


You are my Double Full

by Juiliet



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All Star Cheer Au, Allura is a coach, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk (Voltron) Has Anxiety, Keith (Voltron) Has BPD, Lance (Voltron) Has ADHD, M/M, Minor Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, PINING KEITH, Pidge (Voltron) has ADD, Shiro (Voltron) has PTSD, Shiro is a one armed tumbling instructor, Slow Burn, Texting, Trans Pidge | Katie Holt, but here you fucking go, but the real power couple here is klance, lance is pidge's base, lotor is a dick, pidge is a flyer, pining lance, rivals to friends to fuckbuddies to enemies to ??? to lovers, shunk???, this is definitely less painful than my main fic, this is the all star cheer au nobody asked for nor wanted, what is the hunk/shay tag, wow that's a long ass tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-09-17 09:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9315218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juiliet/pseuds/Juiliet
Summary: Altea All Stars Team Voltron is hurting for a fourth boy to round out their routine and help them on the score sheets. It's the only way they might have a chance at beating Galra Elite, but as anybody can tell you boys are few and far between in the world of all star cheerleading so until then Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and the rest of Voltron will just have to work twice as hard to make up for it. Fortunately at the end of November Coach Shiro announces that they've finally found a fourth boy, a world champion power tumbler who can throw a flawless kick double. There's just one problem for Lance; the new boy is Keith Kogane, the very same Keith Kogane who broke his heart 2 years ago.And perhaps neither boy is really over it.AKA THE ALL STAR CHEER AU OF MY FUCKING DREAMS





	1. November 28th

**Author's Note:**

> well hELLO THERE  
> if you clicked on this you're about to read the combination of my two biggest obsessions: klance and all star cheerleading. now, i know everyone isn't really familiar with all star cheer, so i put links on the names of stunts so you can get a good idea of what they look like.  
> happy klancing!!  
> IM REALLY SORRY  
> For more information on all star cheer here is a good documentary: https://youtu.be/cWGPCVMDmXE  
> if you arent one for documentaries here is the 2 minute trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI2O3tI8EEs  
> and also here is a 3 minute news story on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4ef6TcXdx0  
> and finally just have this because... i love world cup twinkles okay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAvDVFWAE00  
> -screams-

Pidge-gun: Pidge

Funshine: Hunk

Lance lance revolution: Lance

Keithkogane: Keith

Super Shiro: Shiro

Galli-AYO: Allura

Shea butter: Shay

Nymph: Nyma

Roll out: Rolo

Probably Einstein: Matt

Uncle Grandpa: Coran

 

**Lance**

 

**Altea All Stars: Universal Excellence**

If you're looking for an out of this world athletic experience then Altea All Stars is the place for you. Since opening its doors nearly twenty five years ago Altea All Stars has been committed to providing a safe environment that nurtures every athlete to their full potential. Our world renowned staff work tirelessly to bring out the star in every athlete from the moment they step onto the mat. Whether you’re looking for a recreational squad or to compete internationally there is a team awaiting you at Altea All Stars. Sign up today! We can't wait to meet you!

-Allura Altea, Owner of Altea All Stars

 

**What is All Star Cheerleading?**

Though it takes its name and core from high school cheerleading, all star cheer is very different. The biggest difference is that all star cheerleading is focused purely on competition! All star teams travel around the globe to compete for national and even international titles with a single routine that integrates classic cheerleading motions with complex stunt, tumbling, and teamwork. Another big difference is that all star cheerleaders do not use pom poms. Despite all these differences one thing they share is that all star cheerleaders, just like any high school squad they are focused on raising the energy of the crowd and having fun!

 

**Open Gyms are held on Saturdays from 3-5 pm and Sunday from 12-2 pm.**

 

**Congratulations to all our athletes who participated in the annual kick off! We hope you enjoy a well deserved break before our first competition!**

 

Lance scrolled through the Altea All Stars website trying to find the schedule for today’s practices. It’s the first day back since Kickoff/Thanksgiving break and he isn’t sure if he has 45 minutes until practice or if he was supposed to be there 15 minutes ago. Of course it’d be easier to find out if Pidge and Matt hadn’t redone the gym’s website over the break. He has to admit it’s much better than the grainy template with shitty pictures and comic sans font Coran had set up but at least he knew where everything was on the old site. They probably did this just to spite him. That sounded like something they’d do.

He bit his lip, glancing at his phone. It’s not like he can just text Pidge and ask where in the ever living _fuck_ they put the calendar, that would be admitting defeat in the imaginary battle he was currently waging in his mind. But if he was late to practice again Coach Allura would murder him right in front of his stunt group. He hadn’t survived 14 years of Altea’s grueling practices to die only then.

Lance’s team, Voltron, competed at level 5, which is the highest level and takes the most skills. Voltron itself was one of the most elite teams in the nation with many world champion and international titles to its name. It boasted of alumni like Takashi Shirogane the one armed wonder and Allura Altea herself. Of course all that glory came after a lot hard work, sweat, tears, blood, maybe some hairspray, and a whole lot of water. Lance spent 2 to 3 hours a day in the gym for practice, and then add in about an hour or two a night depending on if he was attending a stunt class with Pidge or a private lesson. It added up to somewhere around 18 to 20 hours a week hard at work in the gym honing his skills all for a routine that was a little less than 2 minutes and 30 seconds long.

Lance’s friends outside of cheer didn’t understand why he was so dedicated to this sport, except they didn’t call it a sport. (But it IS a sport, it is so a sport) Sometimes Lance had to ask himself that question, but it only took one performance to remind Lance exactly why he kept doing this. There was something so exhilarating about it, a feeling only blue mats, mixed music, and the sound of shoes slamming into the ground could bring on. Lance loved every bit of his sport. It was his entire world. It wasn’t just his world either. Kids from all over the country came to try out for Altea All Stars.

At least that’s how it used to be, before Galra Elite sprang up. Galra Elite was a chain gym with 15 different locations and in the past 10 years they’ve essentially taken over competitions. It’s unheard of to not have at least Galra Elite team in the top 3, and usually they’re the winners, but they’re sore winners. They always brag about their wins and put other teams down, but in such a way that they never get caught. Lance can’t deny that they are good, but he still hates those stupid purple uniforms with all his being. A few years ago Galra Elite opened a gym not too far from Altea and soon a lot of Altea’s athletes found themselves recruited by Galra Elite coaches. In just 5 years Altea had downgraded from a large gym to a small gym on the brink of closing. There were enough regular families to keep the gym from closing for now, but Lance didn’t know how long they could hold out. They needed to win to get their name back out there, but in order to do that Lance needed to get to practice but of course the damn calendar just had to be-

Just then his phone buzzed and Lance quickly snatched it up, breathing a sigh of relief at the notification.

 

**Team Voltron Group Chat**

Uncle Grandpa: Practice in the main arena starts at 4 pm! First day back so don’t be late!

Shea Butter: :ooo I like the main arena! What color of practice wear are we doing today?

Galli-AYO: Black with the multicolored logo

Galli-AYO: Should say so on the calendar?

Super Shiro: Can’t do black, Wavelength is doing black, might get confusing.

Galli-AYO: Mk, how about the gray?

Shea Butter: Rax said that’s what his team is doing

Galli-AYO: Is anybody doing white???

Super Shiro: Doesn’t look like it

Galli-AYO: Then white it is! Choose your own emblem color!

Funshine: oh thank god thats the one i brought to school today by mistake

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Pidge-gun: where the fuck is lance

Pidge-gun: hes supposed to pick me up bc matt has lab work after practice

Funshine: uhhhh i watched him leave school???

Funshine: he said he had to grab his uniform and shoes

Pidge-gun: what the fuck

Pidge-gun: why cant he remember this shit???

Funshine: allura changed the color remember

Funshine: but i highly suspect he forgot his bag altogether

Pidge-gun: yet another moment i must file away into the ‘lance is a fuck up’ folder

Lance Lance Revolution: c h i l l

Lance Lance Revolution: im on my way

Lance Lance Revolution: no need to get ur feathers in a rustle

Funshine: actually lance can you pick me up too? Id drive but uh…

Lance Lance Revolution: yeeeeee

Lance Lance Revolution: but this fear of driving in the snow is not going to do u any favors

Lance Lance Revolution: also i was thinking

Pidge-gun: holy shit call the press

Pidge-gun: this news is astronomical

Pidge-gun: please tell us what thought has graced you

Lance Lance Revolution: well now im thinking that i need new friends

Funshine: :(

Lance Lance Revolution: not u hunk ur cool

Funshine: ;D

Lance Lance Revolution: but anywAYS

Lance Lance Revolution: as i was saying BEFORE pidge decided 2 b an ass

Pidge-gun: calls em like i see em

Lance Lance Revolution: i was thinking we need some sort of chant before competitions

Funshine: uhhhhhhh we already have a chant???

Pidge-gun: a kick ass one

Lance Lance Revolution: I mean yea

Lance Lance Revolution: but like what if we had like

Lance Lance Revolution: a gym one???

Lance Lance Revolution: u kno?????

Pidge-gun: no i actually don’t know

Lance Lance Revolution: like

Lance Lance Revolution: were the paladins roght???

Lance Lance Revolution: so what if we all had a cheer like ‘PALADIN POWER’

Pidge-gun: full offense lance

Pidge-gun: but that’s the stupidest thing i’ve heard since the fucking ginger ale incident

Funshine: NO NO NO

Lance Lance Revolution: ljkwehrkawjehrlkajwehrlkewhrlwqir

Funshine: WE DON’T TALK ABOUT THE GINGERALE INCIDENT

Lance Lance Revolution:  ORIUwHLRKJEH rlkjwehr oyhil

Lance Lance Revolution: s T o pP

Lance Lance Revolution: I WAS NOT IN MY RIGHT MIND

Funshine: PIDGE WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING IT UP

Funshine: YOU DIDN’T NEED TO DO THAT TO US

Pidge-gun: because it’s fucking hilarious to watch you two lose your minds over it

Lance Lance Revolution: u sadistic fuck

Pidge-gun: mmmmm babe

Pidge-gun: you know i love it ;)

Lance Lance Revolution: u cut that shit out right now

Lance Lance Revolution: or else i will have to fucking kink shame u

Funshine: heyheyhey what happened to the no kink shaming rule

Lance Lance Revolution: i will get ur brother to kink shame u

Pidge-gun: ha

Pidge-gun: he’s too busy with lab and cheer to kink shame me these days

Pidge-gun: what a fuckin NERD

Lance Lance Revolution: hey!

Lance Lance Revolution: do not insult him!!!!!!

Lance Lance Revolution: he gets shiro to let me do [rewinds](http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdugfzMRt21rjnn7co1_500.gif) w/ u in claass!!

Funshine: woah woah woah

Funshine: you guys are doing [rewinds](https://media.giphy.com/media/m1M2Sd6NgVWgw/giphy.gif)?????

Funshine: like single base [rewinds](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/14/9a/4b/149a4bc54ad7948cb6da5286b3c13c6a.gif)???

Funshine: that’s open level 6 stuff!!!

Pidge-gun: no

Pidge-gun: we’ve been TRYING to do single base [rewinds](https://media.giphy.com/media/1j0DIFalWTHoY/giphy.gif)

Lance Lance Revolution: but shiro wont let us :(

Pidge-gun: ugh

Funshine: but you’re still doing them????

Lance Lance Revolution: ye we’ve almost got em down

Lance Lance Revolution: if we do we’re gonna enter a partner stunt competition

Pidge-gun: hell yeah

Funshine: LWEKHRLEKJRH

Funshine: WHY DIDN’T YOU GUYS TELL ME YOU WERE DOING [REWINDS](https://media.tenor.co/images/459df0620b36a76a8bf376eb2cc33678/raw)

Lance Lance Revolution: u never asked

Lance Lance Revolution: also i just passed by galra elite and i think im gonna hurl

Pidge-gun: DISGUSTANG

Funshine: ewwwww

Lance Lance Revolution: how many bonus points do i get 4 running over lotor

Pidge-gun: 1 billion

Funshine: EW LOTOR

Funshine: did you guys see him making fun of shiro at worlds???

Lance Lance Revolution: yE

Lance Lance Revolution: hE moCKed hIS ARMM

Lance Lance Revolution: KLJHREWEKLJRHWELKJRHEWJKRLHWE

Funshine: HE IS SO MEAN!!!

Pidge-gun: r u n

Pidge-gun: h i m

Pidge-gun: o v e r

Lance Lance Revolution: well i cant now hes in the gym

Pidge-gun: then run through the gym windows

Lance Lance Revolution: what if i miss

Pidge-gun: the cops won’t arrive for at least 10 minutes

Pidge-gun: you’ve got time to try again

Lance Lance Revolution: tru

Funshine: what the fuck do you mean try again

Pidge-gun: you know

Pidge-gun: back up the car and

Pidge-gun: run ‘em over again

Lance Lance Revolution: if at first u don't succeed try try again

Lance Lance Revolution: fuk missed a red light

Funshine: WAIT LANCE

Funshine: ARE YOU TEXTING AND DRIVING???????

Lance Lance Revolution: ummmm???

Lance Lance Revolution: yes?????

Funshine: WE TALKED ABOUT THIS

Funshine: YOU COULD DIE

Pidge-gun: he just picked me up and wants to know why you think that would ever deter him

Funshine: uGH

Funshine: why are you guys like this

Lance Lance Revolution: depression m’dude

 

“Take a left up ahead asshole.” Pidge said as they tore Lance’s phone from the aux cord and plugged in their phone. “I refuse to be late because you don’t use your data on Google Maps.”

Pidge was Lance’s flyer, a 14 year old genius with the flexibility of a rubber band. Seriously, the kid was able to perform a [270 degree needle](http://68.media.tumblr.com/3215080ce7dccebc900a772dcf00b904/tumblr_o7kykxQkdl1rtjbzwo2_250.gif) at the age of 10. They had started flying with Lance at the age of 11 when they’d been bumped up to Voltron from the youth team to fill an empty slot. Technically Allura should have waited until they were 12, but Pidge’s birthday was a week before their first competition so it hardly mattered. Pidge and Lance made a good team. They were both bull headed and determined to succeed and despite being the least experienced stunting pair they quickly became one of the cleanest. This year Allura was finally having them stunt point, the very center. It should have been terrifying, knowing that all eyes would be on them, but it was the most exhilarating experience for Lance and there was nobody he’d rather share it with than Pidge.

They were still an asshole though.

“I thought driver chose the music!” He said reaching for the cord and nearly turning the car off a bridge in the process. He quickly righted it with a horrible Cuban swear and a jerk to the steering wheel narrowly avoiding a premature icy death.

“Two hands on the wheel!” Pidge cackled as the mlg remix of  Lazytown's ‘We Are Number One’ blasted through the stereo. They were such a fucking meme.

“You know one of these days I am going to just forget to catch you in a basket toss and who will be laughing then?” He grumbled turning left jerking the wheel a little more than necessary.

“Still me,” Pidge snickered. “Because I’ll recover and continue cheering but Allura will never let you back on the team. Plus if I’m injured enough I’ll become a cheerlebrity like Shiro.”

“Oh please,” He said, unable to suppress a little smile. “Shiro lost an arm, the most you’ll do it break a bone or two. I highly doubt your injury will catapult you to his level.”

“Depends on how high my stunt is,” They shrugged taking a sip of their water bottle. “And the acceleration of my-”

“Can it with your physics you pint sized fig Newton.” Lance snapped as they pulled into Hunk’s driveway.

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Lance Lance Revolution: its ya boi lance out here in the driveway

Lance Lance Revolution: oshit waddup

Lance Lance Revolution: oW

Lance Lance Revolution: piDGE

Pidge-gun: whoops

Lance Lance Revolution: u slAPPED ME WITH YOUR CHEER SHOES

Lance Lance Revolution: THAT FuCcKIN HURT

Pidge-gun: serves you right for being a stale meme

Lance Lance Revolution: I AM BEING ASSAULTED HUNK HELP

Funshine: pidge

Funshine: do i have to bring the squirt bottle

Pidge-gun: you both can suck my ass

 

“Alright Paladins,” Allura said as she walked onto the practice mat, followed by head tumbling coach Shiro. Allura is tall, dark, muscular and slightly terrifying. She’s got an accent, but from where exactly Lance isn’t sure. He'd ask but he was scared she'd murder him either literally or in practice. Her long, white hair was pulled back into a high ponytail with a bow reading ‘Check your ego amigo’. She’s still in her purple Quintessence sports bra, they must have had a practice just before this. “Gather round and- Pidge! Where is your bow?”

Pidge grumbled pulling the small amount of light brown hair they had into a stubby ponytail with the green Altea bow. Lance snickered, earning him a threatening glare from his flyer. He immediately fell silent. He knew what Pidge was capable of. Give them an iphone, a secure VPN, and 20 minutes and they could hack into the Pentagon. Pidge of course said that was beneath their skill level now and unfortunately they were probably write. Regardless, the moral remains to tread lightly around Pidge.

“Now that everybody is in uniform-” She glared at Pidge who only narrowed their eyes. Allura and Pidge had ongoing battle over the bows that clearly was not about to end anytime soon. “We can finally get started with practice. I hope everybody had a refreshing thanksgiving because we need to get back to work straight away. Our first competition is on December 11th, that’s just two weeks away. In a few minutes we will be reviewing our kickoff video to find up what we need to work on, but first I am pleased to say we have finally found our fourth boy!”

At this the team erupted into excited boys whoops and cheers. They’d been down a boy all summer which put a serious dent in their tumbling and stunting. Of course Shay was an excellent single man base, but traditionally that was left for the boys. Pidge always argued that was sexist, but they couldn’t really change the score sheets.

“Dude this is awesome!” Lance whooped turning to Hunk.

“I know,” Hunk grinned. “I wonder who it is.”

“Me too,” Pidge said, crossing her arms, smiling. “I’m pretty sure the only boy at level 5 who isn’t a part of one of the other teams is some kind of power tumbler. Maybe they got a new kid?”

“Maybe,” Lance wondered. “I just hope he isn’t an asshole.”

“And by asshole you mean better than you?” Pidge teased with a shit-eating smirk. Beside them Hunk snickered.

“Hey!” Lance protested, his eyes snapping to his flyer. “You know I’m not nearly as egotistical as you like to paint me! Besides, it’s kind of impossible for anyone to be better than me.”

Pidge rolled their eyes and focused back on Allura.

“Settle down now,” Allura said, though she was fighting back a grin herself. “He’s been attending tumbling lessons here for years now but recently decided to give cheer a try after prompting from Shiro. This is his first ever cheer practice, so let’s try not to scare him off on our first day, okay? Introducing our newest member of team Voltron.”

Allura pointed to a boy who stepped out from behind a large mat. Lance’s jaw went slack. It was the same short (though everybody is a bit short to Lance) stature and gray eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest and while he managed a smile when Allura introduced him but it didn’t reach his eyes. He might as well stayed scowling, which was his default expression. Lance hadn’t seen him up close like this in years, but he’d know that black mullet just about anywhere.

“Welcome Keith!” Allura smiled.

“Keith?!” Lance practically shrieked, but his voice was lost in the sea of cheers and whoops as kids rushed forward to meet the new comer.

“Yeah, she said that was his name,” Pidge said, clapping their hands politely. Her round glasses had been swapped out for contacts because, as one can imagine, being tossed into the air while wearing glasses is not ideal. “I knew the only power tumbler’s name started with a K but I wasn’t sure which one.”

“I’ve seen him practice!” Hunk exclaimed excitedly. “He can do a [double layout!](https://38.media.tumblr.com/1aa061e807b17fb266bb43e48b49d490/tumblr_mvmavevfNv1rtfj70o1_400.gif)”

“That’s not even legal,” Lance scowled, crossing his arms. “It’s not beneficial to our team in the slightest.”

“Yeah, but let me put it this way. If he can do a [double layout](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxr2pg4PAa1r0m2gio2_250.gif) he can probably pull off a specialty pass that will tip our total score over Galra Elite’s.” Pidge said adjusting her bow. “This is actually great news.”

“No it’s not!” Lance protested, turning to face his traitorous friends. “Do you even know who he is?!”

“Uh… Keith?” Hunk guessed, looking confused for a moment, then comprehension beginning to dawn on his face. “Oh! You mean that Keith?”

“Yeah!” Lance spluttered. “It’s that Keith!”

“Who the fuck is that Keith?” Pidge asked, clearly not actually caring to know the answer. Lance opened his mouth to respond, but didn’t have time to get out a word of explanation as Allura and Shiro were calling him back to where the video of their kickoff performance awaited.

At least now he had time to figure out just exactly how he’d tell Pidge all about Keith Lance thought as he watched the stream recording of their routine. They hadn’t done too badly actually. There was only one stunt bobble in the first stunt section of their routine, but Hunk had managed to save it, he always did. Hunk was a little famous around the gym for being able to save even the most precarious of stunts. He really was a perfect base. Allura often had him base in flyer tryouts as he made everyone feel so at ease. He was just so darn friendly. He could also throw a killer standing double full, don’t let that fluffy, huggable body fool you, he was a hard hitter for the score sheets in the tumbling section. He’d gotten his[rebound](http://i.imgur.com/gsjJIUs.gif), an extremely difficult tumbling move where the cheerleader reaches the edge of the mat in their pass and pushed forward to launch themselves into a new pass going back in the direction they came, at least 3 months before Lance.

Of course in the performance Pidge was just stunning, just like always. The way they rose in the air hitting that perfect [kick full](http://ilovechickensofttacos.tumblr.com/post/155821445297) and spiraling down into the arms of their stunt group felt like something right out of a movie. It was sheer perfection. They made it look so easy, to just kick up into a needle stretch so easily, [to tick tock high to highs ](http://ilovechickensofttacos.tumblr.com/post/155821421972)without missing a beat. Pidge was just a near flawless flyer, they always had been. They were also arguably the best flyer Lance had ever based. For one they held up their own weight and didn’t slump down on the bases. It’s hard to toss somebody up for partner stunts when they just flop all their weight on you. For another they weren’t scared of being tossed really, really, really high, which was perfect for Lance who probably wouldn’t have cared anyways. It was one reason they were such a good team. Pidge genuinely wanted to be tossed as high as possible and Lance was always trying to launch his flyers through the roof.

His favorite stunt of her’s took place at the end of the second stunt section. While all other stunts were coming together for pyramid Lance and Shay were rocketing Pidge into the sky for the stunt Shiro had dubbed the [twist dip snap](http://ilovechickensofttacos.tumblr.com/post/155789756062). That wasn’t its official name, but it fit it pretty damn well. Shay would take Pidge’s left foot and Lance their left, they’d launch them up in a twist, letting them dip down with the left leg pushed out then launching them back up so they could snap right into a needle stretch. It was a big boost on the score sheets and super impressive. Lance how no idea how it was even legal, but they’d sent in a video to the USAF and gotten approval.

Finally came Lance’s favorite part of the routine: the dance. By now the entire audience on screen, and off, was clapping along to the beat of the music as the team came together to perform the most kickass dance you’ve ever seen. There was sass, and booty popping (not really), and twisting, and Lance was dead center, hamming it up in the way only Lance could. Lance was called the team Beyonce for a few reasons and one of them happened to be for his impeccable stage presence. He lit up the mat like it was doused in kerosene and he was a blowtorch. He wasn’t afraid to make himself look like an idiot so he never held back in his moves. That and Lance practically thrived on the attention he got for being right in front of it all, leading his team to a flawless dance section.

As the video ended the team gave each other high fives and whooped appreciatively. Lance and Hunk bumped chests and Pidge dained to let Lance fist bump them. Rolo and Nyma, the team power couple, lowkey made out in a corner. Shay hugged Hunk, who instantly blushed. Allura and Shiro let the team revel in a near perfect performance for a few minutes before calling for silence.

“Alright, simmer down now!” Allura said and a hush fell over the team. “That was a really spectacular performance but there is obviously room for improvement as always. Our stunts could use a little cleaning up, our jumps need to be together, and our tumbling needs beefing up. There are no videos of Galra Elite’s routine yet, so we don’t know how much extra boost we’ll need to overcome them on the score sheets but I know we can do it. Regardless, today’s agenda is to reblock to fit Keith into our routine, but first things first, get out there for warm ups!”


	2. November 28th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> u fuckin asked for it so here i wrot emore

* * *

Pidge-gun: Pidge

Funshine: Hunk

Lance Lance Revolution: Lance

Keithkogane: Keith

Super Shiro: Shiro

Galli-AYO: Allura

Shea butter: Shay

Nymph: Nyma

Roll out: Rolo

Probably Einstein: Matt

Uncle Grandpa: Coran

 

**Lance**

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Pidge-gun: so lance

Pidge-gun: you gonna complete your specialty pass or

Pidge-gun: what

Lance Lance Revolution: stfu were on break and i cant drink 3 gallons of water and glare at u aggressively at the same time

Pidge-gun: because if you can’t keith could take your place

Funshine: no pidge

Funshine: do not do this to him

Lance Lance Revolution: IDK PIDGE

Lance Lance Revolution: CAN U HIT A TICK TOCK SOMETIME THIS CENTURY???

Pidge-gun: you fucking dropped me

Lance Lance Revolution: no!

Lance Lance Revolution: u jumped early!!

Lance Lance Revolution: done rustled my jimmies!!!!

Pidge-gun: no you fuckin dropped my ass

Funshine: actually, i’ve got to go with Lance on this one

Funshine: you jumped out a count to early and surprised lance

Funshine: i know because he let out that terrified yelping sound he always makes

Pidge-gun: keith wouldnt drop me

Lance Lance Revolution: hard to drop somebody when u cant get em off the ground

Lance Lance Revolution: let alone throw you 20+ feet into the air like i can

Lance Lance Revolution: have u seen his arms pidge

Lance Lance Revolution: theyr ljke

Lance Lance Revolution: ur arms

Funshine: lance we agreed to not make fun of pidge’s stubby appendages

Pidge-gun: i did not ask to be given these arms

Pidge-gun: god just had to balance out the fact that my muscles are unnaturally flexible

Lance Lance Revolution: ye probably

Funshine: most likely

Lance Lance Revolution: they r a gift from above

Lance Lance Revolution: ngl

 

Practice was brutal, but when was it not? Apparently Shiro and Allura had worked with Keith over Thanksgiving to save time in learning the routine, so they didn’t have much to teach him. So they worked on cleaning up their stunts until they hit the first hour point and were blessed with a water break After break they ran through the newly rearranged routine. They kept it marked just make sure Keith got it all (of course he did) and get everyone else used to his presence on the mat. Lance had to admit, Keith’s specialty passes were impressive. He had a [kick double full](https://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fflo-static-assets.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fapi%2F56f1b6ac2701c.gif&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Ftv.varsity.com%2Farticle%2F40503-the-10-people-you-meet-at-cheer-competitions&docid=y_NolSlHQmXJRM&tbnid=NUTk6knjbjT3eM%3A&vet=1&w=500&h=281&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim), Angel Rice’s signature move and a huge bonus on the score sheets. Not only that, he had [hyperextended jumps](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ee/64/27/ee6427c06ec6bc4083beda8fb8aba9bf.jpg) and perfectly pointed toes so of course he put right up front for the jump sequence and Lance had to be right next to him and watch that stupid mullet flick up and down with every jump. Also what was up with the guy and not taking his shirt off? He was sweating buckets through that red ‘Altea All Stars’ shirt.

Once Allura and Shiro were satisfied that Keith understood the routine well enough they decided to run it through, full out. By the end of it everyone was exhausted and practically falling over. Lance actually did fall over, flopping onto the matt as the music ended. The upbeat cheer mix was replaced by the sound of heavy breathing. It’d only been a few days and just one full out was about his team’s limit. He felt Pidge drape themselves over him letting out a tired groan.

“Pig pile… on Lance…” They managed. Lance reached back and flicked their forehead earning him a little breathy chuckle.

“Oh man…” Hunk managed as he fell back next to them with a loud _whump_ of the spring floor. “I really hope that was it for today.”

“I doubt it…” Lance huffed, wiping some sweat from his brow before it could drip down to his eyes. “We have a competition in two weeks. It’s our first chance a Worlds bid. Allura and Shiro going to run us into the ground.”

“Get up you lazy lumps!” Allura barked. “You call that a routine? That was a disaster!”

Lance muttered something darkly under his breath and got to his feet. She was right, what they had just done was a far cry from their kick off performance. In the beginning of the routine a large group of the team performs a series of back handsprings and two people had crashed into each other. Fortunately nobody was hurt, but it more or less set the mood for the rest of the performance. Nyma fell out of her partner stunt right onto Rolo. In the pyramid Pidge didn’t get launched high enough and as a result didn’t complete her [kick double kick double](https://az616578.vo.msecnd.net/files/2015/11/05/6358228580864529861562167090_basket.gif). Also Lance’s arms had felt so sore from having to show Keith how to single base stunt that he nearly dropped Pidge in her [360 ball up](https://media.giphy.com/media/vtwgTD6ZYN85i/giphy.gif). Hunk had balked his tumbling pass, almost crashing into Shay. The dance was half hearted and Lance missed his cue so he ended up standing there for 2 counts before realizing what he was supposed to be doing. By then he was behind and never really caught up to the rest of team.

“Everyone in the corner!” Allura said pointing. “I want you each to throw your hardest pass. Without balking this time if you please.”

The team let out an exasperated sigh and moved as one unit to the corner. This time there was no animated babble from friends. They were all too out of breath to really speak. Shiro tried to give them an apologetic smile as he made his way out to the center, ready to spot anybody who needed it. Good old, one armed Shiro. He was the friendly coach on the team, never pushing too hard or screaming aggressively. Allura on the other hand didn’t hold back just because she’d been coaching these kids since they were 2. She regularly roasted every team member like a marshmallow at a camp fire.

“My grandma can do a better full than that and she’s been dead for 12 years!”

“Do I need to send you back to Cadets so you can learn how to stunt?”

“It’s a full-twisting layout! Not a ball of death!”

“If you don’t point your toes I’ll break them into that position!”

Shiro was always the one reigning Allura in, reminding her that they were just kids and wouldn’t be perfect all the time. He was more or less the mom of the team, or really the dad. That wasn’t to say he couldn’t be scary too. He didn’t get mad often, but when he did it was absolutely petrifying. For the most part though, Shiro just got disappointed, which was almost worse then him yelling at you. Everyone wanted to make Shiro happy and proud, and being the source of a one armed man’s sadness made everyone feel pretty shitty.

There was one good part about going to the corner. Watching others throw their passes gave you a chance to recover from the near death experience you just had. As people began to catch their breath they cheered on others showing unified solidarity in each other. Lance whooped at Hunk through his signature rebound with the punch front. Nyma blew Rolo a kiss which he pretended to catch in his whip double sequence. But then the main event happened, Keith stepped up to the mat. The team fell silent, watching with baited breath. Keith was a power tumbler, which meant he practiced tumbling and only tumbling for competition. As a result his skills were far beyond what any of them could do. Matt had been a power tumbler before Shiro convinced him to join Voltron and his skills were practically the talk of legend around Altea. Everybody, even Lance, wanted to see just what was Keith’s hardest pass. Keith looked ahead of him, shaking his shoulders briefly before stepping out and throwing himself out onto the mat in a power run.

Keith launched into his pass, not even doing an arabian, just a roundoff back handspring. Lance was about to scoff and claim that of course Keith was nothing special, but oh no, Keith wasn’t done yet. He launched himself out of that back handspring with an incredible amount of power into an [arabian double pike](http://38.media.tumblr.com/894132dc4a325824a733ab0596a91467/tumblr_mz94yjAPEu1shlof1o1_250.gif) _._  His body turned seamlessly through the air, raven hair whipping around his head, eyes closed, a knowing smile of perfection on his lips and in Lance’s chest something leaped. There was dead silence in the gym as Keith stuck the landing with a satisfying slam onto the mat. Everybody was stunned speechless for a full 5 seconds before erupting into applause.

“Watch out Galra Elite!” Pidge cheered as Keith made his way back to the end of the line, grinning sheepishly. He was obviously proud of himself and that damn mullet. Lance narrowed his eyes, ignoring the swelling feeling in his chest. He just turned his attention to Pidge as they prepared themselves to throw their tumbling pass.

“Pidge!” Allura screeched as the flyer completed their pass. Pidge turned to face their coach, fear shining obviously in their eyes. Allura was obviously in a cut throat mood tonight. “You just threw a weak [roundoff handspring series into a ](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2b/1b/63/2b1b63dfcf0ed91665a2f605e615d0b9.gif) _[layout](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2b/1b/63/2b1b63dfcf0ed91665a2f605e615d0b9.gif).” _

The way Allura spat the word layout was like a slap to the face. Pidge visibly winced, their white bow with the green (Of the five colors they were given to choose from Pidge always wore green. Seriously? It wasn’t as if Lance was any better though, he always wore the blue one, but at least blue brought out the color of his eyes. Green was just… no…) Altea All Stars emblem bouncing a bit from the sudden movement.

“Shay just threw a [whip full whip double](http://31.media.tumblr.com/9d5353d2b4a7e55338da00c32b051226/tumblr_mzakovXTCE1rj9wwlo1_250.gif)!” Allura said, staring down the flyer, who somehow managed to shrink shorter than they already were. “I know you can’t do a double but you could at least act like a level 5 paladin and try a [single full](https://media.giphy.com/media/uEV0GPbQWcwLu/giphy.gif)! A youth cheerleader can at least do that. Need I remind you that you still qualify for the age range of a junior? If you’re going to act like a junior I’ll tell Coran to register you for Starbrites and you can build up your skills in the restricted division. You’re on a world's senior team, tumble like it!”

Pidge mumbled a feeble ‘yes ma’am’ and rushed back to the back of the line, their face bright red. It was kind of a sore spot for Pidge that after all this time they still couldn’t throw a [double full](http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8gmzzaa6f1r0bk1zo1_500.gif). They were a talented flyer but their tumbling was definitely not up to scratch. They could throw a [full](http://66.media.tumblr.com/d525e5999239bdcc16f43ea7e74c49ea/tumblr_mq1gle15r31r9i3iso1_500.gif) just fine, but even after years of privates with Shiro they just couldn’t quite get a consistent double down in performance. Hunk gave them a reassuring pat on the back murmuring words of comfort Lance couldn’t hear.

Lance didn't know who's side to be on: Allura's or Pidge's. On one hand Pidge definitely was dragging down the team with her weak tumbling. She was barely making it across the floor in time and her passes would get deductions on the score sheets. On the other hand Shay was by far the best female tumbler on the team and maybe the entire gym. To compare Pidge, who was 14 and a flyer, to Shay, who was 17 and tumbled like a pro, wasn't all that fair, especially when you compared the passes they could throw. 

Usually in all star cheerleading tumbling passes consist of round offs or front handsprings (or even an [arabian](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzs0cjky1T1qhvpngo1_400.gif) if you’re really good) to start. These moves are meant to gain power for a tumbler to launch into a series of back handsprings, whips (a handspring but you don't touch your hands to the floor), and other tumbling moves. After completing these tricks the tumbler would dismount and land on their feet. There are three main kinds of dismounts: the [tuck](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m698ejNq8c1r4argpo1_r1_500.gif), the [layout](https://media.tenor.co/images/873c1f3e6d0d99a52e253addce37cd53/raw), and the [full](https://media.giphy.com/media/uEV0GPbQWcwLu/giphy.gif). (There are variants on all these such as the [double full](http://25.media.tumblr.com/7fc792e507fd6af0e51bb92c52c8228b/tumblr_mgbozvlNmb1r4argpo1_500.gif) which is actually what most of Voltron’s tumbling passes end in but for now these are the basics) The tuck is by far the easiest, a simple aerial roll, but it also has literally no place in a level 5 routine. In fact level 5 teams that end passes in tucks are embarrassments in Allura’s eyes. It’s got to at least be a layout, which is the next hardest dismount. Finally comes the hallmark of an all star cheerleader: the full. The full is like a layout in that your body is as straight as possible, but you add a twist. It looks like artwork in motion when it’s executed just right, but it’s downright terrifying when it doesn’t work out so well.

“Lance!” Allura called, snapping his attention back to her. “Did you forget your meds? Do your pass!”

Lance felt his cheeks burn at the comment about his meds. He hated it when people brought his damn ADHD into everything. Meds were more of a temporary fix than a cureall. He took a deep breath, reminding himself Allura was just stressed. She didn’t mean anything mean spirited by it. He exhaled then began his pass.

It was only 10 seconds, give or take a second or two, but to Lance it felt like an hour. The feel of his arms coming up and his legs pushing off of the spring floor, the sound of his feet slamming into the ground as they pushed through gravity. He could see the blue mats beneath him as he twisted himself around. He heard his teammates cheering him on. “C’mon Lance!” “You’ve got this!” Then there was that ‘Aha’ moment when you know you’ve just thrown a near perfect pass. It was like growing wings and flying for the first time, every time. Lance couldn’t get enough of this feeling, drinking it in like it was nectar from the gods. All too soon he landed safely on the mat with a loud _thump_ marking the end of his [specialty pass](http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/46354/crazy-tumbling-pass-o.gif). He heard Hunk let out an appreciative whoop.

“Atta boy Lance,” Shiro said offering his stump as if to high five him, then blinked at it in surprise as if he’d forgotten he didn’t have a hand there and quickly rectifying his mistake. It was a gag he pulled on just about all of his students, but it never got old. Lance laughed giving him a high five.

“Allura!” Somebody called, and Lance focused his attention to the source of the voice. It was Coran, Altea All Star’s choreographer, receptionist, and uncle, stepping out onto the mat. “Allura, guess what just arrived in the mail!”

Allura got to her feet, muttering something darkly. She was obviously in a pissy mood. “What is it Coran?”

“The uniforms!” He cried excitedly. “The UPS worker said the package got sent to the wrong gym by mistake, that’s why they were late!”

At this the entire team rushed towards Coran and Allura. This had been a new uniform year. The entire team had pulled together a fundraiser so they could bring in consultants and get them custom made. They were supposed to be here before kick off along with a shipment of new bows but never showed up. It was all very disappointing as kick off is supposed to be the team’s dress rehearsal. It’s hard to have a full glam, show stopping, jaw dropping performance when the team is wearing practice wear and the emblem isn’t even the same color. It was a mix match of blue, yellow, green, black, and red V shapes on white sports bras and Nike Pros. Of course they’d pulled it off but still.

Lance and the other Voltron boys helped haul in the boxes, setting them down on the mat. Sweaty cheerleaders gathered around them, waiting for Shiro to return with scissors to open them. Nobody knew what they’d look like. The specialists had simply interviewed them and taken measurements to find out what their general idea was and said they’d just go from there. Not even Allura was privy to a sneak peek.

“I hope they’re blue this year!” Lance whooped excitedly.

“Ugh,” Pidge made a face of obvious disgust at that statement. “Just about every team wears blue! Green is a less common color.”

“Yeah but there are a lot of bad green uniforms out there,” Hunk chimed in. “Like, a lot of them and overly shiny green is the worst. Remember that one team last year who looked like they’d been painted with holographic emerald paint? It was mentally scarring in my opinion. Personally I think yellow is an underrated color and should be used more often.”

“Look the only gym that can successfully pull off yellow is Top Gun,” Lance countered. “If you’re going yellow just go gold. Much classier.”

“You just like gold because that’s what World cup wears.” Pidge snickered. “You’d probably propose to Lauren Preston if you got close enough.”

“Yes,” He said. “I would, though to be honest I also wouldn't say no to Michaeleddie Rivera. Have you seen his standing double full? But none of thise has anything to do with my stance. Blue is obviously the best color.”

“Blue is overused.” Said a sulky voice. Lance glanced over to see Keith, arms crossed over his chest and scowling at them. “Personally I think red would be good.”

“Yeah, well,” Lance shot back. “I didn’t ask for your opinion. Besides, Galra Elite wears red and purple. To wear red is like honoring the enemy.”

“Actually Lance has a point there.” Hunk said fairly. “I refuse to wear purple as that is the main color of the Devil’s army. Red not so much but I really don’t want anyone mixing us up with that scum.”

“Red is scientifically proven to get the heart rate up though,” Pidge said, rubbing their nose as if pushing an invisible set of glasses up. “There was a football coach who painted his team’s lockers red and the lockers of the visiting team’s locker room blue. He ended up having a more successful team because of it. Also you’re more likely to challenge a red color to race than a blue one.”

“This isn’t football!” Lance protested, a little hurt that Pidge was actually defending this mullet. “This is all star cheerleading! We’re not going to win just because we wear red.”

“It was a metaphor,” Pidge rolled their eyes, pretending to smoke a cigarette. Immediately Hunk clapped his hands over his ears.

“I thought we agreed not to mention that book!” He cried out. “You know I’ll start thinking about it and how sad it is and then I’ll cry and-”

Lance patted his bro’s back supportively, glaring at Pidge as if it was their fault that Hunk was a leaky faucet with legs and a killer standing full. Pidge just rolled their eyes turning away from them.

Shiro raced out carrying scissors and the team screamed in excitement. Lance almost couldn’t hear Hunk’s warning cry of ‘Don’t run with scissors!’. Shiro skidded on his knees, sliding in next to the box and ripping into it excitedly. For a coach he was probably just as eager, if not more, to see these new competition uniforms than his team ones. The old uniforms had been passed down for the past 5 years and were practically falling apart. It’d be nice to have something fresh to wear that didn’t look like it belonged in a museum.

Shiro opened the flaps and reverently pulled out the first black bag on top. He read the name tag then called “Pidge!”

Pidge let out a squeak and rushed forward, snatching the bag. The entire watched was they carefully undid the packaging and pulled out something so beautiful Hunk actually sniffled next to Lance. The [uniform](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2p5BvtXEAQhPh_.jpg) was something out of a dream. It was a stunning shade of gray, with strips of white and black snaking up the sleeves entertwined with either a green, blue, red, or yellow stripe (In Pidge's case it was green). The shoulders were cut out and the cuffs and edges were simply studded with rhinestones. The word ‘ALTEA’ was emblazoned across the chest in the same iridescent fabric with crystals taking the form of the v shaped logo beneath. The bottoms were a pair of decked out athletic shorts, with swirling stars on the sides. Attached to them was a note, which Pidge read out loud.

“We decided that Pidge’s uniform should not conform them to the binary gender spectrum, so Pidge’s bottoms are custom made shorts just for them. We hope they like them!”

“Hell yeah!” Lance cheered grabbing his own uniform bag. “Can we get new uniforms from them next year too Shiro?”

“I don’t think we can afford that Lance.” Shiro laughed handing out more uniforms to eager, sweaty cheerleaders. “Now what are you waiting for, go put them on!”

 

**they cool kids of voltron**

Super Shiro added Keithkogane to the group chat

Galli-AYO: lit

Funshine: WELCOME!!!

Funshine: ;DDD

Pidge-gun: hola

Keithkogane: Hey

Lance Lance Revolution: o

 

**Super Shiro >>> Lance Lance Revolution **

Super Shiro: i know you and keith have a history

Super Shiro: but if you could give him a chance it’d mean the world to allura and i

Lance Lance Revolution: ok

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Lance Lance Revolution has sent a picture

Lance Lance Revolution: PIDGE U MODEL

Pidge-gun: what can i say im #flawless

Lance Lance Revolution: seriously tho

Lance Lance Revolution: look at u

Lance Lance Revolution: u rock that uni

Funshine: holy fuCK

Funshine: i have been blessed by this image

Funshine: my skin is clear and my crops are flourishing

Funshine: is that the picture you guys are posting to instagram of the new uniforms

Lance Lance Revolution: hell yeah

Lance Lance Revolution: its one of them

Pidge-gun: were also gonna post a video of our twist dip dnap to snapchat

Pidge-gun: gotta work the system

Funshine: you guys are killing it though

Lance Lance Revolution: allura is also going to post the one of you and shay partner stunting!!!

Funshine: ohmygodno

Funshine: nothankyou

Pidge-gun: why???

Pidge-gun: you look great

Pidge-gun: a perfect couple tbh

Lance Lance Revolution: ngl the flyer is right

Funshine: lwherlwkjherlewkjr

Funshine: you dont have to boost my self esteem guys

Lance Lance Revolution: we rnt lyin??

Pidge-gun: hunk

Pidge-gun: you slay my liFE

Funshine: stOP

Lance Lance Revolution: i will never stop complimenting my bro

Funshine: b r o

Pidge-gun sent a video

Pidge-gun: SHIRO IS ONE ARM BASING ALLURA

Pidge-gun: DID YOU HEAR WHAT SHE SAID

Funshine: FUCK

Funshine: SHIT THAT BOI IN LOVE LOOK AT THAT SMILE

Lance Lance Revolution: this is the purest thing i have ever seen

Lance Lance Revolution: this cured my depression

Funshine: we are witnesses to something beautiful

Pidge-gun: ‘that was… great..!’

Pidge-gun like a nervous anime schoolgirl

Lance Lance Revolution: how tf would u know what that sounded like

Lance Lance Revolution: unless

Lance Lance Revolution: UR A WEEB

Pidge-gun: lance you own every naruto manga book

Pidge-gun: i have the pictures

Pidge-gun: so kindly shut the fuck up

Pidge-gun: but seriously that sexual tENSION

Pidge-gun: BIG ENOUGH TO CAUSE DYNAMIC FRICTION

Pidge-gun: got some serious Newton’s Second Law pairings over here

Lance Lance Revolution: not sure wtf that means

Lance Lance Revolution: but they need to pipe

Pidge-gun: did you just

Lance Lance Revolution: they need to

Lance Lance Revolution: PIPE

Lance Lance Revolution: and make some cheerlebrity babies

Lance Lance Revolution: pls

Funshine: i agree???

Funshine: any children they have together will probably take over the cheer world

Lance Lance Revolution: probably throw a perfect full by the time they are like

Lance Lance Revolution: born

Pidge-gun: ok i think we’re almost done with twitter pictures

Lance Lance Revolution: thanks for waiting for us dude were finishing up now

Funshine: no prob bob

Funshine: plus ur my ride home so hahaha

Funshine: sorry for being an anxious shit who cant drive in snow

Lance Lance Revolution: hunk!!!

Lance Lance Revolution: you are not shit!!!

Lance Lance Revolution: you are a ray of sunshine!!!

Pidge-gun: hunk its fine we understand

Lance Lance Revolution: plus i love kareoke partnering with u man

Lance Lance Revolution: u r always welcome in my car

Lance Lance Revolution: ALWYAS

Funshine: thanks guys you’re the best

Pidge-gun: we are number one

Lance Lance Revolution: s t o p we rnt even in the car yet and ur already memeing like the sin u r

Pidge-gun: i am a meme

Pidge-gun: put me in the Sin Tin™

Lance Lance Revolution: same tho

 

**Keith**

 

Keith slid into the passenger seat of Shiro’s car as Shiro started the ignition. As the car turned on cheer music began to play through the speakers ([World Cup Odyssey 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngkP1wsUi9Q) god bless) and the heat warm up Keith’s freezing fingers. Whoever the fuck told Keith it never got cold on the west coast was a fucking liar. Right now it was cold enough to freeze hell over. Their little town had gotten hit with a freak snow storm over Thanksgiving which nearly cancelled practice, but Allura would rather commit patricide so once the main roads had been cleared and salted she announced that practices would continue no matter what.

“So, what do you think?” Shiro asked as they pulled onto the highway. “Not so bad, huh?”

“I guess,” Keith mumbled, sinking down into his seat. He needed a 3 hour long shower and 3 year long nap to recover from that, but no, it hadn't been bad. Sure, all the friend groups had been decided back on Juniberries, he wasn't really sure what the difference between a spotter and base was, and there was no way in hell he'd ever be able to keep up in the dance section but it hadn't been nearly as awful as Keith had thought it was going to be. In fact, he kind of enjoyed himself a little bit especially when they'd cheered on his tumbling, but he was always a slut for attention. 

For the past 6 months Shiro had been pestering Keith to tryout for Team Voltron. He brought it up at home, in privates, at competitions, just about every chance he could, but still Keith remained determined his answer: no. He was already at the gym for hours on end because Shiro (with good reason, Keith had to admit) didn't trust him to be home alone and really didn't want to sacrifice what little free time he had left to the cheer overlord Allura. Still, when you live with your adoptive brother who not only works at a cheer gym but is also a cheerlebrity on social media it wears you down after a while. He'd never been on a cheer team before and had secretly been dying to try it. Watching the way they moved together on the floor, as one solid unit, a deep bond between teammates, he was a little jealous. Finally, after watching their near perfect kick off video Keith folded and agreed to join. Of course, even as the words were leaving his mouth he was already regretting it, but he wouldn't trade the overenthusiastic grin on Shiro's face for anything. 

So yeah, Keith did kind of like being on the team, but there was just one problem.

“Wish you had told me Lance McClain was on the team.” Keith said after a moment of silence.

“If I had you would have never agreed to join the team.” Shiro chuckled. “I know you two don’t really see eye to eye but he’s the best base and you’re our best tumbler. We need both of you on that team if we want to win.”

“We won’t win anyways,” Keith huffed. “Galra Elite’s too good.”

“You never know,” Shiro smiled merging left. “I put your phone in the glove box on my portable charger. I think you can have it back early since you went to practice without complaint.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Keith sighed opening the glove box and pulling out the phone he’d lost by tell his teacher to fuck off. He turned it on and immediately saw several notifications.

 

**Prince >>>Keithkogane**

Prince: Hello love!! Just got out of sports practice!! <33

Prince: Keith? Babe?

Prince: Keith??

Prince: Keith are you fucking ignoring me

Prince: Keith if you don’t respond

Keithkogane: Sorry babe, my brother took my phone until I got my homework done :(

Prince: Oh thank god

Prince: I thought you might be cheating on me!

Keithkogane: Never

Keithkogane: <33

Prince: <33

Prince: You want to hang out for a bit before curfew? ;)

 

“Hey Shiro?” Keith looked up from his phone.

“Hm?” Shiro mumbled not taking his eyes off the road.

“My friend Luke just invited me over. It’s only 8, can I stay until 9 and then come home?” He asked hopefully.

“Is your homework done?” Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Keith said, telling the truth. He’d done most of it in his study hall period they’d given him when he’d dropped a class.

“Will you show it to me when you get home?” Shiro asked. Keith scowled, not that Shiro could see him in the dark. It had been over a year and Shiro still didn’t trust him. Then again, Keith wouldn’t exactly trust himself either after that stunt he pulled.

“Yeah, I will.” He sighed, deciding not to give any attitude.

“Good,” Shiro smiled warmly, his face illuminated in orange by the stop light. “You’ve been doing really well lately. Nearly 3 months sober. I’m proud of you.”

Guilt twisted deep in Keith’s stomach making him rethink his decision. Fuck, Keith didn’t deserve Shiro at all. Here he was sneaking behind his back hooking up with his boyfriend and scoring pills at every opportunity when he was supposed to be getting clean. He’d caused Shiro so much trouble in the past year alone yet Shiro stuck by him faithfully. Instead of getting mad when he’d accidentally overdosed the first time Shiro just reassure him everything would be okay, that’d he’d get him the help he needed, that he still loved Keith. When he’d found that stash he’d been disappointed but didn’t yell at Keith. He just looked so sad it was enough Keith to go clean for 2 months before slipping back into his old habits which is where he was now.

But the guilt wasn’t enough to overcome the craving he felt. Wearily, wondering if he’d ever not be a slave to his own poor choices and self-destructive impulse he tapped back a reply.

 

**Keithkogane >>>Prince**

Keithkogane: I’ll be over in 30. I need to shower so I don’t smell bad.

Prince: Okay Keith, see you then! <3

Keithkogane: See you Lotor! <3

 

**Lance**

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Funshine: man i am beAT

Funshine: i took a shower and i am currently eating my second can od spaghettios

Funshine: *of

Lance Lance Revolution: duuuuuuuude

Lance Lance Revolution: my mom had mcdonalds waiting for me when i got home

Funshine: can we just take a moment to honor mrs. mcclain

Pidge-gun: amen

Lance Lance Revolution: a goddess among moms i know

Lance Lance Revolution: but fuCK i ache everywhere

Lance Lance Revolution: shiro’s standing tuck conditionjng workout killed me

Pidge-gun: serves you rigbt for not working out over break

Lance Lance Revolution: I HAD FAMILY OVER

Lance Lance Revolution: WHAT THE FUCK WAS I SUPPOSED TO SAY

Lance Lance Revolution: ‘YO FAM HOLD UP I GOTTA DO 50 CRUNCHES AND A 5 MINUTE PLANK SO I CAN KEEP MY ABS FLEEK YEET’

Pidge-gun: dont you fuckin ever say fleek again

Funshine: my EYES

Pidge-gun: moving on from lance’s horrible word choice

Pidge-gun: who wants to explain lance’s deal with keith kagone

Funshine: KAGONE

Lance Lance Revolution: K

Lance Lance Revolution: A

Lance Lance Revolution: G

Pidge-gun: ???

Lance Lance Revolution: O

Lance Lance Revolution: N

Lance Lance Revolution: E

Funshine: we r kagone

Lance Lance Revolution: do not violate such a pure meme w his name

Pidge-gun: dont say violate it sounds fuckin weird

Pidge-gun: and how tf do you spell it

Lance Lance Revolution: its kogane

Lance Lance Revolution: keith kogane

Lance Lance Revolution: and hes a dick with a mullet

Funshine: yeaaaaaa gonna have to agree with lance on this one too

Pidge-gun: well

Pidge-gun: can i know why at least

Funshine: its a personal story

Funshine: kinda emotional???

Funshine: a bad time all around

Pidge-gun: so… i cant know????

Pidge-gun: lance

Pidge-gun: we’ve been stunting together for years

Lance Lance Revolution: yeah

Pidge-gun: you know you can tell me anything

Lance Lance Revolution: yeah

Lance Lance Revolution: i know

Pidge-gun: so???

Lance Lance Revolution: uh

 

**Funshine >>>Lance Lance Revolution**

Funshine: bro you okay

Lance Lance Revolution: yeah i guess

Lance Lance Revolution: its been like 2 years

Lance Lance Revolution: and im sitll not over it

Funshine: b r o

Funshine: you dont have to tell them

Lance Lance Revolution: i know

Lance Lance Revolution: but they kind of do deserve an explanation???

Lance Lance Revolution: they r right

Lance Lance Revolution: were stunting partners

Lance Lance Revolution: we cant have secrets

Funshine: but you might not be ready to talk about it??

Funshine: pidge isn’t an ass

Funshine: if you tell them that they’ll respect it im sure

Lance Lance Revolution: ok

Funshine: good job today on that pass btw!!!

Lance Lance Revolution: thx

 

**Pidge**

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Lance Lance Revolution: pidge its kind of a long story

Pidge-gun: if you think im not capable of forgoing sleep to get me a cup of tea you are wrong

Lance Lance Revolution: nono i know that

Lance Lance Revolution: but also i dont really wanna talk abotu it rn

Lance Lance Revolution: mayb later??

Pidge-gun: ok

Pidge-gun: i got u boo

 

**Pidge-gun >>>Funshine**

Pidge-gun: tell me the goods

Funshine: cant

Funshine: bro code of honor

Pidge-gun: oml

Pidge-gun: uGh

Funshine: he’ll tell you when he’s ready okay?

Pidge-gun: ok

Pidge-gun: why haven't i been told this story before though?

Funshine: uh

Funshine: it was 2 years ago and it was messy and yeah

Pidge-gun: wasn't lance diagnosed with depression/rsd 2 years ago

Funshine: yeah

Pidge-gun: are the two related

Funshine: possibly

Funshine: now stop asked questions i wont give away anymore information

Funshine: bro's honor

Pidge-gun: brotp

Funshine: amen

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Lance Lance Revolution: GUYS THE PICTURE OF PIDGE DOING HER NEEDLE IN THE NEW UNIFORM GOT 500 LIKES IN THE PAS HOUR

Pidge-gun: shiro who? i dont know her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all the gifs are just examples of their passes and tumbling btw so yEAH  
> just wanted to add, finding gifs for this takes LONGER than actually writing it  
> but this is my dream and i am trash what can i say :')  
> also shay's tumbling is based off of toni broni from wcss  
> lauren preston and michaeleddie are also real people sO  
> screm @ me if u want more  
> UPDATE: the voltron unis are based off of World Cup All Stars Omni uniforms from 2016-2017 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2p5BvtXEAQhPh_.jpg


	3. November 28th + November 29th

Pidge-gun: Pidge

Funshine: Hunk

Lance Lance Revolution: Lance

Keithkogane: Keith

Super Shiro: Shiro

Galli-AYO: Allura

Shea butter: Shay

Nymph: Nyma

Roll out: Rolo

Probably Einstein: Matt

Uncle Grandpa: Coran

 

**November 28th**

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

**Funshine has sent a link**

Funshine: guys holy fuck

Lance Lance Revolution: okay im still in calculus and if this another rick roll i swear to fuck

Funshine: GSX just dropped a video of their pyramid and dance

Funshine: this is not a drill

Funshine: i repeat this is not a drill

Pidge-gun: oh my shit fuck

Lance Lance Revolution: and if mr bill gilbert (who the fuck names their son bill if their last name is gilbert???) catches me with my phone out again im gonna be murdered

Lance Lance Revolution: so this better be the real deal

Lance Lance Revolution: okay so its the real deal

Pidge-gun: what the fuckkkkkkk

Funshine: who does that???

Lance Lance Revolution: well gsx does apparently

Lance Lance Revolution: were screwed

Pidge-gun: seriously… we are

Funshine: guys no dont give up hope!!!

Funshine: i know its nearly flawless and probably the very fringes of legal

Funshine: and very unique

Funshine: and ultimately probably only going to get better

Funshine: and yeah we are screwed

Pidge-gun: have allura and shiro seen this

Lance Lance Revolution: no

Pidge-gun: how do you know

Lance Lance Revolution: bc if they they had allura would have scheduled an emergency practice

Funshine: a c c u r a t e

Pidge-gun: ok true

Lance Lance Revolution: but tbh i think if we just ramp up our dance

Lance Lance Revolution: get pidges kick full kick full consistent

Pidge-gun: you can fite me that stunt is consistent

Pidge-gun: at least 50% of the time

Lance Lance Revolution: ok but we like

Funshine: 100%

Lance Lance Revolution: 85%

Lance Lance Revolution: oh

Lance Lance Revolution: i mean 100 is ideal but like

Funshine: the deduction if they fall to the ground is not worth the bonus if they hit

Lance Lance Revolution: true

Lance Lance Revolution: yeah

Pidge-gun: fuck you guys

Lance Lance Revolution: pidge ily but huk is right

Lance Lance Revolution: huk

Pidge-gun: huk

Funshine: huk

Pidge-gun: okay fine

Pidge-gun: also if i somehow mastered a double full this season???

Lance Lance Revolution: mmmmmm

Funshine: mmmmmmmm

Pidge-gun: you guys are not supportive at all

Pidge-gun: why do i hang out with you

Funshine: bc lance drives us places and i pay for food

Pidge-gun: ah yes

Funshine: speaking of which are we still down for studying at pidge’s house

Lance Lance Revolution: yee.gif

Pidge-gun: im so angry you didn’t even send the video or the gif you just typed up yee.gif and oF fUCkIng COurSE i HeAr THatT dAmn DInOsaUR

Lance Lance Revolution: i hear him every time i type out ye or see ye

Funshine: ye

Lance Lance Revolution: ur not helping anything

Pidge-gun: when have i ever???

Lance Lance Revolution: good fucking point

Lance Lance Revolution: guys can we stop by walmart and pick up food on the way home

Lance Lance Revolution: i mean

Lance Lance Revolution: it doesnt really matter what you say

Lance Lance Revolution: im driving the car your opinion is invalid

Funshine: fuck ye i’ll pay

Lance Lance Revolution: ok so hunk just committed to paying for our snacks after shiros conditioning from hell

Pidge-gun: in that case im getting EXTRA pizza rolls

Funshine: wait…

Funshine: oh no

Funshine: oh fuck what have i done

Funshine: can i retract my statement

Lance Lance Revolution: it is too late u signed in blood

Lance Lance Revolution: the covenant has been made

Funshine: my brethren i regret my decision

Pidge-gun: hAHhahAHHAHAAAAA

Lance Lance Revolution: fUCk i think he saw me

 

“I’m dying.” Lance gasped as he flopped on the couch in the lobby of Altea All Stars. Everything ached, his abs, his legs, his arms, everything. Shiro’s conditioning workouts were only an hour long, but it was an hour of sheer hell. Shiro tried to make his work outs fun by holding contests and making teams, which was actually worse than just giving them a workout and setting them loose. Lance was just so competitive that he always gave it 212% when teams and points were involved.

“Me too.” Hunk managed after coming up for air after downing at least half a gallon of water.

“You could fling me into the sun right now and I wouldn’t care.” Pidge said ripping out their bow.

“You wouldn’t care anyways.” Lance countered grabbing a cool water bottle and pressing it to his hot face. He let out a soft moan that was nothing short of ecstasy as his skin touched the cold surface.

“I can’t believe Lance has a water bottle kink.” Pidge breathed, and Lance, who was too exhausted to argue, merely flipped them off weakly before letting his hand fall to his side. If he couldn’t even fight back against Pidge’s kink shaming how the hell was he going to drive a car?

 

50 minutes, a bottle of gatorade, and a $40 trip to walmart later Lance was munching happily on Cheez-its in Pidge’s basement as if the workout had never happened. He and Pidge were going through instagram as they waited for Hunk to finish using Pidge’s shower. Lance kept his eye on the bathroom door, ready to bolt in as soon as Hunk stepped out. He was technically next in line in their makeshift shower rotation table but Pidge was known for slipping ahead of people to get a shower. Lance wasn’t one to argue as he’d usurped the shower line a few times in his life, because let’s get real, nobody wants to lie around with the sweat from cheer practice still sticking to their skin. For one it’s just really gross, and for another Lance’s pores clogged more easily than a public school toilet. It was kind of ridiculous. Everybody had told him that the acne got better after middle school, but it only seemed to be getting worse for Lance. He had to do so much just to keep his complexion clear. Meanwhile Pidge over here could put on water proof stage makeup for a two day competition, not wash in between the two days, and walk away with baby soft skin. It wasn’t fucking fair. Thank god Lance now kept a bottle of his face wash at Pidge’s house so he cleanse off immediately after practice.

Over the past 2 years the three friends had settled into a routine. Voltron practiced 5 days a week, 4 to 7 on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays, 3 to 4 on tuesdays and thursdays. Mondays they usually had Lance drive them all home, tuesdays and thursdays meant study sessions at Pidge’s house, wednesday was chipotle night, and they slept over somewhere just about every friday. They basically lived at each other’s houses to the point where they kept a bag of toiletries and a change of clothes there just in case of an unexpected sleepover.

“Okay Lance,” Hunk said stepping into the room. “I’m ou- PIDGE NO CUTTING!”

Hunk grabbed Pidge who’d tried making a B line for the shower. Pidge hissed thrashing in vain against Hunk’s grip, but Hunk wasn’t letting go.

“Thank you Hunk,” Lance snickered as he grabbed a towel and sauntered in, giving Pidge a nice smirk. Pidge glared at them, knowing full well there wouldn’t be any hot water left when Lance was done.

 

They didn’t even do their homework that night. Well no, Hunk did his homework, and most of Lance’s and a little of Pidge’s, but for the most part they just sat and talked, mostly about cheer things. Matt joined them when he came home from classes (His college was only 20 minutes away so he lived at home) and they spiraled into cheer politics real fast.

It was probably 9 pm when Pidge brought up the subject. They were flopped like a starfish on the giant bean bag, an empty sack of twizzlers lying next to them. Hunk was finishing up Lance’s spanish homework (“Don’t you speak Spanish?” “Si,” “Then why don’t you do your Spanish homework?” “Because you do it for me.” “Oh.”) and Lance was ranting about how Shooting Stars Lady Gaga routine should have placed much higher than it did in World’s.

“Hey guys,” Pidge said, their voice sounding far off and dazed. Hunk looked up from his work book. “Do you ever think we talk about cheerleading too much?”

Matt started gagging on his root beer. Hunk let out a little shriek. Lance asked if Pidge was high.

“I’m serious!” They said, sitting up. “And no Lance, I’m not high. Matt hid his stash and I still can’t find it. Regardless, do you guys think we talk about cheer too much?”

“You listen up here you little nonbinary child,” Hunk said, pointing his pencil at Pidge. “I don’t ever want to hear those words out of your mouth again!”

Pidge scowled. “Literally all we do is go to school, go to cheer, and then go home. And outside of cheer we talk about cheer, all the time.”

“No we don’t!” Lance scoffed, placing a hand to his chest as if Pidge’s comments were downright hurtful.

“You certainly don’t.” Matt snorted. “Last night you were talking about the computer you are planning to build one day and nobody could get you to shut up about it.”

“Okay, yes,” Pidge agreed. “But, as a whole I feel like our whole lives are nothing but cheerleading.”

“Because they _are._ ” Lance pointed out. “I’ve been cheering competitively since I was 4 and my mother attended my older sisters’ competitions when she was pregnant with me so technically longer.”

“Yeah, same here,” Hunk nodded. “We were on Juniberries together Lance, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Lance grinned. “That was lit.”

“You were like 4.” Pidge said, adjusting their glasses. “How could it be lit?”

“Kool-aid juice boxes after every competition,” Lance said. “And Hunk’s moms made us cookies.”

“They still make cookies for us,” Pidge argued.

“Cookies taste better the younger you are.” Hunk said matter of factly. “True science fact.”

“As a biochemistry major I can back this up.” Matt laughed stealing a fist full of cheez-its and ignoring Lance’s protests. “But seriously Pidge, do you like cheerleading?”

“Well, duh,” Pidge rolled their eyes. “Of course I like it, I love it.”

“Then why would you worry about talking about it too much?” Matt asked raising their eyebrows.

“Maybe people think we’re weird…” They admitted, letting out a sigh.

“Then let them.” Hunk said, filling in an answer on the Spanish worksheet. “Just because others think you’re weird doesn’t mean you should stop doing or talking about what you love.”

“Yeah!” Lance grinned. “Don’t let anyone dull your twinkle!”

“I thought the saying was dull your sparkle.” Pidge smiled a bit.

“Nah, that saying is stupid.” Lance waved them away. “I’m quoting the Twinkle cheer mix from when I was on that squad and we won Dallas, much better comparison in my opinion.”

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Lance Lance Revolution: hey guys look what i found

**Lance Lance Revolution has sent a video**

Lance Lance Revolution: jk Matt sent it to me

Lance Lance Revolution: BUT LOOK AT THE LITTLE BIRB

Funshine: !!!!!!!!

Funshine: is that baby pidge>??

Lance Lance Revolution: fresh from the egg as u can see

Pidge-gun: WHERE THE FUCK DID HE FIND THAT

Funshine: ARE YOU DOING A STUNT SEQUENCE TO FERGIELICIOUS

Lance Lance Revolution: LISTEN THEY SAY KATIELICIOUS

Funshine: ‘AND AINT NO OTHER GIRL DROP IT DOWN LIKE ME’

Funshine: also who the fuck says you can do a death drop like that at the tender age of 8

Pidge-gun: I WAS 7 ACTUALLY

**Lance Lance Revolution has sent a video**

Lance Lance Revolution: I GIFED THE DEATH DROP

Pidge-gun: why are you like this

Funshine: this is my new favorite reaction gif

Funshine: this is so pure i cannot

Pidge-gun: pls

Pidge-gun: have mercy on my soul

 

**November 29th**

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Pidge-gun: IT IS 2:30 LANCE OUR PRIVATE STUNT WITH SHIRO IS IN 30 MINUTES WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU

Lance Lance Revolution: I JUST LEFT SCHOOL IM SORRY IM COMIN 2 GET U NOW

Lance Lance Revolution: wait shit no i have to stop at my house and grab my shoes BUT I AM IN THE CAR

Pidge-gun: hunk can you confirm

Funshine: ye

Funshine: im stuffed in his trunk

Pidge-gun: youre

Pidge-gun: ????????

Pidge-gun: what the

Pidge-gun: fuck ???

Lance Lance Revolution: i had to kidnap hunk to save him from lotor and haggis face

Pidge-gun: pics or it didnt happen

Lance Lance Revolution: check my snap story

Pidge-gun: wHAt tHE fUccCK

Pidge-gun: tHEy sAId wHAT

Funshine: MMMMMMMM HONEY

Lance Lance Revolution: dude if rolo hadn’t held nyma back i swear

Pidge-gun: fuckkkk why did i have to have a doc appointment today

Pidge-gun: if i was there i would have roasted them to a fine crisp

Lance Lance Revolution: hunk did

Funshine: i did?

Pidge-gun: LMAO I JUST SAW THAT

Pidge-gun: YOU DID YOU SO DID

Pidge-gun: ‘yeah well if my gym colors were that ugly i’d get new uniforms every year too’

Lance Lance Revolution: ‘you look like somebody threw up undercooked red cabbage on spandex, hooked it up to marionettes, and set it to poorly mixed pop tunes’

Lance Lance Revolution: IM SENDING IT TO SHIRO

Funshine: LANCE NONONONONONONONELHWRLKEJRHLWEKJRHLWJKEHRL

Lance Lance Revolution: y

Funshine: HE TOLD US NOT TO CONFRONT THEM!!!!

Funshine: WHAT IF HE KICKS ME OUT

Pidge-gun: I SHOWED IT TO MATT

**Pidge-gun has sent a video**

Pidge-gun: LISTEN TO THE NOISE HE IS MAKING

Lance Lance Revolution: is

Lance Lance Revolution: …

Lance Lance Revolution: is that a hyena choking

Funshine: i genuinely think it is

Lance Lance Revolution: matts animorph is a hyena

Lance Lance Revolution: #confirmed

Funshine: i can’t believe matt holt is actually a hyena ://

Pidge-gun: HE’S STILL LAUGHING HE CAN’T GET UP OFF THE FLOOR

Funshine: matt’s laugh gives me life nGL

Lance Lance Revolution: bro

Lance Lance Revolution: u give me life

Funshine: _brooo_

Pidge-gun: HIS FACE IS PURPLE

Lance Lance Revolution: okay im actually concerned holy fuck

Lance Lance Revolution: is matt ok

Pidge-gun: no

Funshine: i can’t believe i killed matt holt ://

Lance Lance Revolution: rip matt holt

Pidge-gun: rest

Pidge-gun: in

Pidge-gun: piss

Lance Lance Revolution: death by hunk’s humor

Pidge-gun: the best way to die

Funshine: srsly is matt okay

Pidge-gun: he keeps giggling and muttering ‘red cabbage’

Funshine: i broke matt holt

Pidge-gun: he says he was broken long before you got to him

Pidge-gun: what color is the practice wear

Lance Lance Revolution: ummm??

Lance Lance Revolution: pidge its a private

Pidge-gun: yeah but after the private

Pidge-gun: we have practice

Lance Lance Revolution: we do??

Pidge-gun: yeah lance

Pidge-gun: we do

Funshine: practice wear today is black with the silver altea v thingy on it

Lance Lance Revolution: hunk we have to turn around

Pidge-gun: did you really forget we had practice today?

Lance Lance Revolution: fall break threw me off okay???

Funshine: it was like

Funshine: a week??

Lance Lance Revolution: IT THREW ME OFF OK

Lance Lance Revolution: but seriously at privates we dont have to wear a uniform

Lance Lance Revolution: we can wear whatever the fuck we want

Lance Lance Revolution: or nothing at all B^)

Pidge-gun: lkherwlkhrlkwjehr

Funshine: _[aaaaaaaaaaaaa]_

Pidge-gun: lance no

Pidge-gun: ive seen too much

Pidge-gun: my innocent eyes

Funshine: im oedpius

Pidge-gun: elaborate

Funshine: gouged out my eyes

Lance Lance Revolution: imtoosexyformyshirt.mp3

Pidge-gun: when will the government stop your sinful hand

Lance Lance Revolution: so sexy IT HURTSSSS

Funshine: he playing it in the car

Funshine: I CANT

Pidge-gun: jesus christ are you almost at your house yet

Lance Lance Revolution: ye we just got caught up in traffic

Pidge-gun: traffic or starbucks

Lance Lance Revolution: traffic

**Funshine has sent a picture**

Funshine: starbucks!! :D

Funshine: oh

Funshine: no no wait

Funshine: fuck i mean traffic

Funshine: we got caught up in traffic

Lance Lance Revolution: goddamnit hunk

Pidge-gun: laCnE

Funshine: L ACNE

Funshine: L A C N E

Funshine: L

Funshine: ACNE

Funshine: IM CRYING

Lance Lance Revolution: pls

Lance Lance Revolution: do not make fun of my oily face

Lance Lance Revolution: :’(

**Pidge-gun has changed Lance Lance Revolution’s name to lacne**

Pidge-gun: serves you right for going to starbucks without me

Lacne: c h i l l

Lacne: i got u some 2

Lacne: hunk has it

Pidge-gun: !!!

**Funshine has sent a picture**

Funshine: lacne got your favorite!!!

Pidge-gun: did i ever tell you lacne that you’re the best base ive ever had

Lacne: u could stand to say it more often

Lacne: and also change my name

Pidge-gun: mmmmmmmmm

Pidge-gun: no

Pidge-gun: now where the fuck are you

Funshine: from the feel of it alMOST GOING OFF A BIRDGE LANCE

Funshine: I CAN FEEL MY SOUL

Funshine: LEAVING MY BODY

Lacne: YEAH I KNOW ME TOO

Lacne: i just hit a speed bump at a speed i shouldnt have

Funshine: LANCE STOP TEXTINF AND DRIVING

Lacne: OK mOm

Funshine: unlike yall i dont have a death wish

Pidge-gun: you also aren’t depressed

Funshine: oh ye

Funshine: tru

**Lacne has sent a picture**

Lacne: get in loser were going to practice

Funshine: can i come out of the trunk now

Lacne: no

Pidge-gun: no

Pidge-gun: not until i beat lance up for that reference

Lacne: NO HUNK COME HERE AND PROTECT ME

Funshine: i think i’ll just watch

Funshine: confrontation isn’t really my thing remember

 

“Lance, Pidge, come look what I found!” Hunk called to Lance and Pidge as they left the floor. Hunk was sitting in the lobby of Altea All Stars with a book open in his lap. Lance leap frogged over the back of the couch, ignoring the shouts of ‘Lance that’s dangerous!’ from Coran and landing smoothly next to his bro. Pidge slid in on the other side of Hunk, pulling the bow out of their hair now that they were out of Allura’s sight. The book in Hunk’s lap was like a yearbook the gym printed at the end of every season to commemorate that year’s events. The first half was dedicated to team photos, listing every athlete just like a school yearbook, and that was nice but really boring. The fun stuff was in the back where the gym showcased select action shots of competitions and trophies. Hunk did not have the book open to a cool action shot, Lance saw. Instead it was one of the teams, a youth team by the looks of it. ‘Twinkles Youth Level 5’ the title read in an elegant font.

“Is… is that…” Pidge breathed, pointing to a small boy who was standing cheerfully in the back row. He had black hair and a broad smile. Next to him was a girl about the same age with silver hair and dark skin. They both wore the same white and gold uniforms.

“Shiro and Allura?!” Lance screeched, pointing at the two little figures. “They were on Twinkles?”

“I mean I knew they were on Twinkles,” Pidge said, clearly still in awe. “But I didn’t know they were on it together. And standing next to each other in the team photo.”

“That’s not all,” Hunk grinned, pleased to be the center of attention. “Feast your eyes on THIS.”

He flipped the page dramatically to the back and pointed at an action shot of little Shiro helping backspot little Allura in a full extension bow and arrow stunt. Both Lance and Pidge lost their shit. It had been a running gag for years between the three of them to find any evidence of Shiro and Allura together and proclaim that it was ‘Shallura confirmed’. Though shipping people is in general rather nasty, nobody could deny that Allura and Shiro would be the ultimate power couple and now that they knew they’d been stunting together for that long…

Pidge held the picture high and screeched “SHALLURA IS CANON” at the top of their lungs while Lance and Hunk took photos for receipts in case Shiro and Allura tried to destroy the evidence. They made so much noise that a few people looked over at them in alarm.

“What are you guys screaming about?” A slightly irritated sounding voice asked from behind them. Lance turned around ready to exclaim the glorious news when he froze. He was staring at another black haired, pale skinned individual, Keith Kogane.

“None of your beeswax Kogane.” Lance huffed, turning away.

“Keith!” Pidge waved the photo. “Shallura confirmed! Shallura is confirmed!”

Keith blinked, taking the book from her and looking at it. He broke into a smirk. “You think that’s bad? Let me show you this.”

To Lance’s horror Keith took a seat next to Pidge and pulled out a laptop, like he planned to actually sit there with them until practice started. _Who the fuck does this boy think he is._

“I have a whole folder on my laptop dedicated to photos of Shiro that are potential blackmail.” Keith grinned wicked and Lance could have sworn Pidge was salivating. He couldn’t help but peer over Hunk at the laptop screen, a little curious as to what dirt Keith could possibly have on Shiro. A lot apparently, as the folder contained 487 items and was titled ‘Shiro Receipts’. He clicked it to reveal a collage of photos and screenshots of Takashi Shirogane in all of his manly glory.

“Oh my god…” Hunk breathed, eyes widening. “How did you get all these?”

“I’ve known him since I was… uh… 6 I think?” Keith said, quickly scrolling through the literal hundreds of photos like a man on a mission. “I only just started collecting last year when I got bored over the summer. Found some old photo albums and started taking pictures with my phone and viola, Operation Shame Shirogane became a reality. Most of this is old cheer photos and videos mixed in with typos and stuff, but I think I have a photo that might interest you…”

Finally he came to rest about halfway through the collection and clicked on a small, pixelated, image titled ‘step on me’. The pictured enlarged to show the most beautiful image Lance had ever seen. It was many years old, and taken at a competition. A little, baby (and by baby Lance meant probably 5 or 6 years old) Allura with her silver hair tucked back with a bow half the size of her face and wearing the sassiest expression a 5 year old could ever hope to make. She was standing as Coran on his knees behind her held her waist was he grinned ecstatically. And what was she standing on one might ask? Why it was Shiro, on his hands and knees, head up and smiling cheerfully at the camera like he was having the time of his life as _Allura Altea was stepping on him._ The title above it read ‘Rising stars debut!’ and the caption below read ‘Allura Altea (4) of Juniberries, Altea All Stars competitive Tiny level 1 team, strikes a pose with her base Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane (5) at the team’s very first cheer competition. This brand new team is entirely comprised of athletes ages 4 to 6 and showcases the youngest stars of Altea. Juniberries practices twice a week and focuses on the learning the basics of all star cheerleading in a safe, nurturing environment under the careful instruction of Coach Coran and Alfor Altea.

“This.” Lance exclaimed, forgetting that it was Keith who was showing him the photo. “Is the purest thing I have ever seen in my _life.”_

“My mental illnesses have all been cured.” Pidge said. “I need 12 billion copies of this immediately.”

“I didn’t even know I needed this until now?” Hunk murmured. “But now I see… I see the truth. This is what God has been trying to tell me all of my 17 years.”

“Dude, we need every photo of Allura and Shiro you have right now.” Pidge said pulling out their phone and practically throwing it at Keith. “Add your number right now.”

“Wait, Pidge-” Hunk began, realizing Lance was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

“And tonight you’re joining us for our weekly wednesday’s Chipotle night so we can pour over this holy grail.” Pidge added before anybody could stop them.

“Woah, woah, woah, woah!” Lance exclaimed waving his hands wildly. Pidge stared at him blankly. “You can’t just invite him to Chipotle night!”

“Why the hell not?” They asked, raising an eyebrow. “We have come across the ark of the covenant and we’d be foolish not to take advantage of it.”

“Yeah but,” Lance searched around for an excuse but coming up empty. “But… he’s got a mullet!”

“Oh my god.” Pidge rolled their eyes and slid off the couch. “I feel like you’re just being petty.”

“I’m always petty!” Lance protested defensively.

“Yeah, but you’re being more petty than usual.” Pidge snapped. “In fact, I think you’re just being downright rude.”

“Rude?!” Lance practically screeched. “You’re the one who’s being rude you pint of skim milk!”

But he might as well have been talking to the wall for what it was worth, Pidge’s back was turned and they were already opening the door to the practice mat. Hunk let out a low whistle and Lance fumed.

“I don’t think I can come anyways.” Keith said awkwardly, slipping his laptop into his bag hastily.

“No, don’t make a stupid excuse.” Lance grumbled. “If you don’t come PIdge will murder me.”

Keith paused licking his lips. “I… don’t want to intrude.”

“You wouldn’t be intruding on anybody important!” Lance huffed and marched his way to the gym, stalking past Hunk who was still sitting in the same exact position on the couch.

 

**everybody in the middle stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Lacne: ok so is keith coming

Pidge-gun: yes

Funshine: but he’s bringing allura and shiro

Pidge-gun: you have got to be fucking kidding me

Pidge-gun: how did this happen

Funshine: he asked shiro if he could come and shiro asked if he could come along and then he asked if allura wanted to come and i panicked and i just said yes

Lacne: ok

Funshine: you okay with that?

Lacne: yeah

Funshine: you sure

Lacne: yes?

Pidge-gun: he said yes calm down

 

**Funshine >>>Lacne**

Funshine: you okay bro

Lacne: yeah

Funshine: you sure lance?

Lacne: yes

Funshine: are you

Lacne: no

Lacne: but clearly my discomfort doesnt matter

Funshine: lance… bb

Lacne: its whatever

Lacne: let pidge have their way ok

Lacne: it doesnt matter

Funshine: yes it does!!

Lacne: i dont matter

Funshine: yes you do lance

Funshine: this is the RSD talking

Lacne: no this is lance talking

Funshine: lance, we’ve talked about this

Funshine: your emotions are not fact

Lacne: yeah well

Lacne: they feel like fact

Lacne: okay?

Lacne: now leave me alone

Funshine: no

Funshine: im coming to the boy’s bathroom right now

Lacne: how did u know im in here

Funshine: because that’s where you always go to cry

Lacne: oh

Lacne: omg is that a bag of ice i hear you carrying

Funshine: yes and also some chocolate from the vending machine

Funshine: its milk chocolate

Funshine: open the stall and let me in

Lacne: why are you so nice

Funshine: because you’re important to me

Lacne: i dont deserve u or pidge

Funshine: yes you do <33

 

**Keithkogane >>>Prince**

Keithkogane: Hey babe, can’t hang out tonight. I know I said we’d do it tonight since Last night I was so out of it, but I can’t tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow though okay?

Prince: Why can’t you hang out?

Keithkogane: I’m sorry baby, something came up.

Prince: A thing more important than your boyfriend?

Keithkogane: No, of course not, but I can’t get out of it.

Prince: Yeah right.

Keithkogane: Lotor, you know I love you.

Prince: No you don’t.

Prince: If you loved me you’d be with me right now.

Keithkogane: You know I would if I could, but I can’t. My guardian says I have to go.

Prince: Ugh, whatever.

Prince: Probably going to go fuck some other boy, right?   
Keithkogane: No, never. I need to go, I’m sorry. I love you.

 

**everybody in the middle stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Pidge-gun: no offense lance but i dont know what your problem is with keith

Lacne: hes evil

Pidge-gun: he laughed so much at hunk’s haggar roast coke came out his nose

Lacne: hes evil

Funshine: pidge he really hurt lance

Pidge-gun: how

Pidge-gun: when

Pidge-gun: he looks so pure??

Pidge-gun: a little angsty but pure???

Funshine: it’s lance’s story to tell, okay?

Pidge-gun: what happened

Lacne: pidge

Lacne: i dont have the emotional stamina to go through it all rn

Lacne: i will tell you tomorrow at lunch

Pidge-gun: ok

 

**Funshine >>>Lacne**

Funshine: you sure you want to do that

Lacne: yeah

Lacne: they kind of deserve to know?

Lacne: it is kind of the incident that landed me in inpatient

Funshine: uh you were depressed before???

Lacne: ik

Lacne: but it pushed me over the edge

Funshine: yeah

Funshine: im here for you bb

Lacne: thank

Funshine: im gonna spam my lance tag on tumblr

Lacne: fuck ye

Funshine: and tomorrow ill bring smarties!!

Lacne: !!

Lacne: bless u

 

**Keithkogane >>>Prince**

Keithkogane: Did you get my text? I said I love you

Keithkogane: Babe?

Keithkogane: Babe, please answer me

Keithkogane: Are you mad at me?

Keithkogane: Lotor please just answer me I’m begging you.

Keithkogane: Baby, please.

 

**Pidge-gun >>>Keithkogane**

Pidge-gun: ay lil mama let me insinuate in your ear

Keithkogane: sin in me

Pidge-gun: mmm yes daddy

Keithkogane: harder daddy

Pidge-gun: don’t stop!!

Keithkogane: okay so if this is any indication as to what the rest of our friendship with be like i think this is going to go swimmingly

Pidge-gun: just marvelous

Pidge-gun: but ye that’s probably true

Pidge-gun: also have you heard of the increasingly verbose meme

Keithkogane: FUCK

Keithkogane: YES

Pidge-gun: lakhwrkwejhriwurh4lahur4

Keithkogane: that is my favorite fucking meme but nobody knows what its called

Keithkogane: and i fuckin love it

Pidge-gun: me !!!

Pidge-gun: too !!

**Pidge-gun has sent a file (kachow!!.png)**

Keithkogane: did you just copy that from the KYM website

Pidge-gun: -sweats nervously-

Keithkogane: let me show you the true meaning of meme

Keithkogane: the memeing

Pidge-gun: fuck yes gimme that good shit

Pidge-gun: pee on me daddy

**Keithkogane has sent a picture**

Pidge-gun: mmm hell yes

Keithkogane: you like that huh

Pidge-gun: mm so much

Pidge-gun: fill me daddy

**Keithkogane has sent a picture**

Pidge-gun: yes!! dady dont stop!!

**Keithkogane has sent a picture**

Pidge-gun: oh yes more more!

**Keithkogane has sent a picture**

Pidge-gun: oHHH daaDDDDY

Pidge-gun: daddy that was so good

Pidge-gun: daddy takes such good care of his princess <33

**Keithkogane has changed Pidge-gun’s name to Meme slut**

Meme slut: fair

**Meme slut has changed Keithkogane’s name to Daddy dearest**

Daddy dearest: oh my god shiro just saw our convo and almost swerved off the road

Daddy dearest: he looks very confused and a little worried

Daddy dearest: im crying

Meme slut: so am i

Meme slut: wait

Meme slut: why is shiro takign you home???

Daddy dearest: he’s my adopted brother

Daddy dearest: his parents adopted me when i was like 6

Meme slut: DUDE YOUR BROTHER IS TAKASHI SHIROGANE

Daddy dearest: adopted brother but yes

Meme slut: SO THATS HOW YOU GOT ALL THOSE PCITURES

Daddy dearest: mhmmm

Daddy dearest: want some of shiro with braces

Meme slut: lwkuehrlkwejhrlkjwerh

Meme slut: fuck yes

**Daddy dearest has sent a picture**

Meme slut: im

Meme slut: in tears???

Daddy dearest: how does he make head gear look good tho

Meme slut: i agree this should be illegal

Meme slut: so keith whats it like having a near perfect brother

Daddy dearest: ohmygod

Daddy dearest: he really is perfect???

Daddy dearest: i had a crush on him when i was like 9

Meme slut: KLE#GHRWERHWERYre

 

**Probably Einstein >>>Super Shiro**

Probably Einstein: i just heard a really shrill scream from pidge’s room followed by a strangled SHIRO and i am really concerned be your brother’s new screen name is daddy dearest

 

**Daddy dearest >>>Meme slut**

Daddy dearest: techNIcaLLY we aren’t related SO

Meme slut: INCEST IS WINCEST

Daddy dearest: pls i was 9

Meme slut: im

Meme slut: dying

Daddy dearest: no wait

Daddy dearest: take me with you

Daddy dearest: release me from this mortal coil

Meme slut: s a m e

Meme slut: also r u ok bc when we were leaving chipotle you looked upset

Daddy dearest: im fine lmao

Meme slut: you sure

Daddy dearest: yes

Meme slut: ok

Meme slut: i feel like this a ‘you must be level 4 friend before you can unlock my traumatic back story thing’

Daddy dearest: ye basically

Meme slut: mk

Daddy dearest: but i like to overshare so like

Daddy dearest: it’s just my boyfriend he was upset bc we couldn’t hang out

Meme slut: aww

Daddy dearest: dont worry though its cool we’re cool

 

**Prince >>>Daddy dearest**

Prince: I see you’ve changed your screen name.

Daddy dearest: Hey! How are you!

Prince: Don’t change the subject.

Daddy dearest: Babe, I just made a friend

Prince: Who are they

Daddy dearest: Just somebody from school

 

**Daddy dearest >>>Meme slut**

Daddy dearest: what school do you go to btw?

Meme slut: Garrison High

Daddy dearest: fuckin LIT

Daddy dearest: me too fam me too

 

**Prince >>>Daddy dearest**

Prince: I see.

Prince: If you don’t want to be in a relationship anymore Keith you can just tell me okay?

Daddy dearest: I do baby, I want you

Prince: You sure?

Daddy dearest: Yes.

Daddy dearest: I’ll sneak out tonight for an hour. I can’t stay long though

Prince: Okay <3

Daddy dearest: <3

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> end me slowly with a butter knife lmao  
> alot of this is texting conversations  
> we'll be getting more of practices and events soon lmao  
> please comment if you like what you read!!!


	4. November 30th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a little brief description of over stimulation here. It's written based on what happens to me. I hope it works??  
> EDIT: hey i had to update some dates and shit for continuity's sake SO here we go

Meme slut: Pidge

Funshine: Hunk

Lacne: Lance

Daddy dearest: Keith

Super Shiro: Shiro

Galli-AYO: Allura

Shea butter: Shay

Nymph: Nyma

Roll out: Rolo

Probably Einstein: Matt

Uncle Grandpa: Coran

 

**Altea All Stars: Universal Excellence**

**Help support disabled athletes in our 8th annual Cheerios for Shiro fundraiser!**

Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane was 18 years old and a talented tumbler and paladin on Altea Allstars Team Voltron when he lost his arm to a tragic house fire. That year the families of Altea came together and held the first annual Cheerios for Shiro to help raise money for his medical expenses. Once Shiro no longer needed the extra support he decided to give back. Now Cheerios for Shiro is held every year from December 27th to January 1st and raises money to help benefit underprivileged children afford prosthesis. Cheerios for Shiro is a 6 day long event that allows athletes of all ages and skill levels to come together and work on their skills all for a good cause! Every year our top teams exhibit their routines to an enthusiastic audience who all vote on which team should be named Cheerio Champion of the year. You can register **here** and find out what charities Cheerios for Shiro is supporting **here**.

 

**Spark Your Spirit Competition Information**

This year our first competition will be at the Spark Your Spirit convention in Los Angeles California. This is a one day event for our tiny, mini, youth, junior, and senior teams. All teams will be leaving at 4 PM on Friday, December 9th. We will drive through the night and arrive at the convention by 10 AM on Saturday and leave that night at around 10 PM.

Click here for the packing list!

**Champions League Information**

Congratulations to Voltron, Starstruck, Solar Flare, and Kerberos for being invited to this year’s Champions League! We will depart for the airport at 12 PM (Request early dismissal from school!) on Friday, December 16th, from the gym. We will arrive in Orlando at or around 4 PM and be checking into our hotel by 5 PM to prepare for the Champions League banquet. Each team performs at least twice, once on Saturday and once again on Sunday. Should any teams advance to the finals they will perform one last time Sunday afternoon. Click **here** for a full schedule of performance times and events. Athletes should bring along any schoolwork as we will not be returning home until late Sunday evening. Good luck paladins!

 

**everyone in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Lacne: guys the information for cheerios for shiro and cl is up

Meme slut: ik

Meme slut: i just posted them

Meme slut: also lance wtf its like

Meme slut: 1 am

Meme slut: why are you up

Lacne: i get email notifications whenever u update the website

Lacne: and it woke me up

Lacne: also y r u up???

Meme slut: ive been writing up the website information

Lacne: o

Meme slut: yeeeeaaaaa

Lacne: n i c e

Lacne: but shouldnt u slep

Meme slut: i’ll sleep when im dead

Lacne: ye iagree and all

Lacne: i thrive on my own self destructive behaviors

Lacne: but tomorrows practice is gonna be bad???

Lacne: with both sys and cl coming up allura will be on the warpath

Meme slut: lmaooo i can sleep in class

Funshine: no

Funshine: dnot

Funshine: your parents pay a lot for the garrison

Funshine: notd wast theeir mone

Lacne: oh no we woke up hunk

Funshine: yeah

Funshine: go 2 sleep

Lacne: no

Meme slut: wernt you just telling me to go to sleep

Lacne: yea

Lacne: but no1 said i had to follow my own advice

Lacne: plus i actually have a study hall to sleep in

Funshine: i wont let you

Funshine: i’ll keep waking you up

Lacne: hunk

Funshine: waht

Lacne: if i can sleep thro ur snoring

Lacne: i can sleep thro anything

Meme slut: v true

Meme slut: wait guys i screwed up the kick off photo gallery

Meme slut: shit

Meme slut: what level is gravity

Lacne: isnt that the level 2 mini team

Funshine: ye

Meme slut: fuck

Lacne: wait what did u put

Meme slut: nobody ahs to know

**Lacne has sent a picture**

Lacne: u putt

Lacne: l e v e l

Lacne: 4.2

Lacne: how

Funshine: weklrhlwkejhrlkwjehrlwkerh

Lacne: we have..

Lacne: 2 mini teams

Meme slut: i know

Funshine: there are only up to 2 levels allowed in mini??????

Meme slut: i know

Funshine: how did you mix this up pdoge

Lacne: pDOGe

Funshine: pd o g e

Lacne: very flexible

Lacne: much rage

Lacne: wow

Meme slut: oh my fuck

Meme slut: put that meme back where it came from or so help me god

Lacne: fine

Lacne: but seriously 4.2????

Lacne: i would like 2 say that 4.2 is a senior only divisioN??

Meme slut: what the fuck even is 4.2

Lacne: its level 4 stunts but level 2 tumbling

Lacne: its like the transition from high school/middle school cheer to allstar

Funshine: ye

Funshine: we have a 4.2 team right

Lacne: uh i think??

Lacne: its

Lacne: light years?

Meme slut: light years is junior 3

Funshine: i think it’s wavelength

Funshine: just checked the doc

Funshine: it’s wavelength

Meme slut: there’s a doc???

Funshine: ye there is

Funshine: here ([link](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11ZzHp6swskUc4l7UzRNDNbVixuMWvIHqd4_IJZ3RBgw/edit?usp=sharing))

Meme slut: bless u

Lacne: doesnt rax or rex or whoever the fuck is shays borther coach that

Funshine: mhm

Funshine: lance do you remember being on gravity

Lacne: we were

Lacne: 7?

Funshine: ye 7

Funshine: then we were helios for a year

Meme slut: o fuck helios

Meme slut: that’s the twinkle reject team lmaooo

Meme slut: good thing i was never on there B)

Lacne: eat my ass podge

Lacne: it was a placeholder team until we learned the level 5 skills required

Funshine: maybe it was for you

Funshine: i had a layout already tho

Funshine: so idk wtf i was doing on helios bc i had all the skills

Lacne: in that case u were just a straight up twinkle reject i guess lmao

Meme slut: i only had a tuck??

Meme slut: and i was inconsistent as fuck

Meme slut: during the running tumbling section they just put me dancing in the back

Lacne: hA

Lacne: loSeR

Meme slut: mom lance is making fun of me :’(

Funshine: lacne

Funshine: do not antagonize the birb

Lacne: its not my fault they cant tumble for shit

Funshine: i mean you’re right

Funshine: but pidge can do a lot of things you can’t

Meme slut: like a needle stretch

Lacne: i can do a needle???

**Lacne has sent a picture**

Lacne: sit ur ass down somewhere honey

Funshine: holy smokes

Meme slut: when the fuck did you get your needle???????

Lacne: ive been secretly working on it for like 3 years

Funshine: woahhhh

Funshine: i’m in awe

Funshine: but i’m also tired

Funshine: everyone go the fuck to sleep

Meme slut: okay g’night

Lacne: night mom

Funshine: <33

 

**Lacne >>>Meme slut**

Lacne: ur not actually going to bed are you

Meme slut: hell no

Meme slut: lacne you can throw a double full right

Lacne: is that actually something u r askin me

Meme slut: yeah i know you can

Meme slut: sorry im just tired?

Meme slut: anyways do you think you can help me learn it

Lacne: i would love 2!!!

Lacne: if i had free time!!

Meme slut: uh… you do??

Lacne: ahah no

Meme slut: we dont have practices on saturdays and only privates on sundays

Lacne: ye but uh

Lacne: i may have

Lacne: or may not have

Lacne: agreed to coach special stars after kick off

Meme slut: the special ed team????

Lacne: yea

Lacne: june bug is on it this year!!!

**Lacne has sent Meme slut a picture**

Lacne: look at how cute hs elooks in her unfirom

Meme slut: ok damn that’s pretty fucking adorable

Meme slut: okay i think i actually should go to bed and you should too

Lacne: what

Lacne: fine

Lacne: sweet dreams birb

Meme slut: night lance

 

**Keith**

 

Keith knew he was fucked when he caught himself humming cheer music in study hall. He was half through ‘big personality, the glitz and the glam, it’s a jersey thing, you wouldn’t understand’ (World Cup Shooting Stars 2014) when he stopped himself and realized that he was unbelievably screwed. He simply put his head down on the desk and bit back a groan.

Since being adopted by the Shirogane’s at the age of 6 Keith found himself wrapped up in the world of Altea All Stars, the cheer gym that his family helped work. He tentatively agreed to attend tumbling lessons and that’s when he discovered his own love for tumbling. He could care less about the bows and the basket tosses and the dancing and the routine. He just loved that feeling of power surging through his legs and air whistling through his ears as his body executed passes. He told his coach, Coach Alfor, that he only wanted to tumble. Alfor immediately signed him up for power tumbling competitions and that’s where Keith found his home. Power tumbling had all the competition and athleticism Keith craved and none of the loud music and blinding lights he didn’t. He never before had a desire to be on one of Altea’s All Star cheer teams, or any cheer team, and suddenly here he was humming cheer music. He was so fucked.

It was all Shiro’s fault really. If Shiro hadn’t been on his ass all summer to join Voltron none of this would’ve happened. Of course Keith kept a steady resolve to say no each and every time Shiro asked ‘Hey, have you ever thought about trying out for Voltron?’ but Shiro knew Keith better than Keith knew himself. Shiro began playing cheer music in the car, cheer documentaries began popping up in the ‘watch it again’ suggestions on YouTube and Netflix. If hadn’t been for Shiro Keith wouldn’t be finding himself up way past midnight rewatching ‘Twinkles Chasing Perfection’ or critiquing California Allstars Small senior team’s 2016 routine, he wouldn’t be trying jump combinations in the gym when nobody was around, and he certainly wouldn’t have a playlist on his iPod called ‘Cheer Mixes’. He also wouldn’t find himself distracted during tumbling workouts by the graceful arc of a flyer or the screams of support from team members cheering on others to push. He could tell by the end of September that the fight was over, he was going to have to cave or regret this for the rest of his life.

2 weeks before kick off Shiro asked him the question and this time Keith agreed. Yes, he’d join team Voltron, but only because they’d fail without him and Keith knew how much to Shiro. This had nothing to do with actually thinking the sport was cool and it certainly had absolutely nothing to do wanting to genuinely be on the team.

Shiro wasn’t stupid, he knew Keith was secretly dying to be a part of this action, but he acted like he had no idea and set up privates with Allura so Keith could learn how to base. Keith already knew how to tumble, well beyond level 5, so stunting was the only thing he need to master. He worked every day after school with Allura, Shiro, and Matt so he would be able to keep up with the team after fall break. It cut into his time with Lotor, but oddly enough Keith found he didn’t care nearly as much as he should have. In fact, it was kind of a relief. Keith loved his boyfriend, but he felt like he needed this, he needed to be a part of something for once.

Shiro was so happy that Keith finally joined the team that he grew a little more lenient with Keith’s privileges. For the first time Keith was allowed to spend his nights in his bed room instead of on the couch in the living room with Shiro sleeping on the pull out trundle bed. He was able to go out (30 minutes only) without being tracked through an ankle bracelet. But perhaps the biggest change was that he was allowed to have his phone again, and not just when he got home but all throughout the day.

Keith was floored the first day Shiro handed it to him as he dropped Keith off at school. He just started at it in Shiro’s hand, blinking in confusion.

“You forgot to grab your phone so I brought it with me,” Shiro said with a smile. “Take it.”

“Are you… actually letting me have my phone?” Keith asked, gingerly taking it and staring at it reverently. Holy shit. He hadn’t been able to take this thing to school in god knows how long. Only 2 days into Team Voltron and he was already allowed to have his phone back?

“You’ve been really good recently,” Shiro nodded. “Both your psychiatrist and I thought you have earned it back, but I’ve installed Qustodio. You remember Qustodio right?”

“Yeah,” Keith grinned, rolling his eyes and shoving his phone into his pocket. He knew what Qustodio was, a monitoring program, but he didn’t care. He would rather have Qustodio on his phone then no phone at all. The fact that he even had a phone was a huge step. It meant Shiro trusted him, if even somewhat. “Thanks Shiro.”

“Have fun,” Shiro called out as Keith made his way to the entrance of Garrison High School.

“Bold statement!” Keith replied waving to his adopted brother and watching him drive off.

So, things seemed to be going alright. Even after that disastrous first practice when Keith discovered he was cheering with Lance Mc-fucking-Clain, Keith didn’t really regret his decision to join Team Voltron. He liked the practices and the games and that routine. He loved the looks on his team’s face whenever he threw his passes. He had enjoyed going to Chipotle on Wednesday, even if Lance had been kinda standoffish towards him. He was even looking forward to that big competition this weekend especially now that he had Pidge as a friend. At least, he hoped they considered him a friend. They had stayed up until midnight when Shiro had taken his phone. They’d talked about memes, school, and cheer. Pidge was into all the weird documentaries and cryptids Keith was and he’d gotten so excited when he’d learned that he literally screamed, which caused Shiro to check up on him.

Speaking of Pidge it looked like they’d texted him already. Shit. He hadn’t been able to respond. How long ago had they sent this? Would they be mad he hadn’t responded? Pidge, as great as they seemed, was still an unknown entity and Keith had no idea what would make them mad. A rush of panic rushed through his body as he opened up the text.

**Meme slut >>>Daddy dearest**

Meme slut: can you teach me to land a double full

Meme slut: ik youre probs not awake but when you do get this yeah

Meme slut: it’s fine if you cant

 

He let out a sigh of relief. The time stamp read 2 in the morning, they probably wouldn’t have expected him to reply. He filed this back later in case it came up and then began to type up a response

**Daddy dearest >>>Meme slut**

Daddy dearest: i sure as shit can man

Daddy dearest: also if i called you man and your not okay with it just tell me

 

Pidge must have had their phone on them because they responded immediately.

**Meme slut >>>Daddy dearest**

Meme slut: nah nah its cool

Meme slut: dont worry im chill with dude and honey

Meme slut: but anyways thank i appreciate it

Daddy dearest: ye ye

Daddy dearest: uh did you bring your cheer stuff to school today?

Meme slut: yeah bc even tho practice is at 4 today i’ve got a private stunt

Meme slut: y’kno

Meme slut: me and lance

Daddy dearest: n i c e

Daddy dearest: is it strictly routine stuff?

Meme slut: ehhhh not always

Meme slut: mostly it is but we convinced shiro to let us do rewinds

Daddy dearest: w h a t

Daddy dearest: h o w

Meme slut: lance is very good at begging

Meme slut: and i got matt to work on him too

**Meme slut sent a video**

Meme slut: look at us though!!

Daddy dearest: holy shit,,,,

Daddy dearest: N ICE

Meme slut: IKR

Meme slut: we’re going to try and compete as a stunt group eventually

Daddy dearest: woahhhh

Daddy dearest: thats so sick man

Meme slut: ikrrrrr

Daddy dearest: anyways does lance always giv eyou a ride??

Meme slut: most days yeah

Meme slut: he drives hunk a lot during the winter months too

Daddy dearest: niceee

Daddy dearest: shiro usually drives me from school to the gym

Daddy dearest: then i hang ou tuntil practice or until he gets off work

Daddy dearest: but if you want shiro can drive us both and we can do some work before practice

Meme slut: fuck yes

Meme slut: school gets out at 2 and my private is at 3 so tbh we could even do some work today?

Daddy dearest: a tumbling session… a private… and then shiro’s death conditioning…

Daddy dearest: you don’t have high enough stamina for that

Meme slut: if i have high enough stamina to assist twinkles camp i can do it

Daddy dearest: ok as impressive as that might be im gonna say no

Meme slut: but daddy!!!

Daddy dearest: bc i dont want you to stumble in your stunts

Daddy dearest: and make us redo a sequence a billion times

Meme slut: fair

Meme slut: also matt found an old cryptid documentary on mothman

Meme slut: im gonna force lance and hunk to watch it

Meme slut: after practice do you want to come chill at my house and watch it with us??

Daddy dearest: will lance even want me there

Meme slut: no

Meme slut: but its my house

Daddy dearest: but lance will be there

Meme slut: anyways…. you’re coming to my house after practice and lance can fuck off

Daddy dearest: let me ask shiro first

Meme slut: k

Meme slut: but even if he says no

Meme slut: youre coming

Meme slut: i’ll kidnap you

Daddy dearest: i honestly dont doubt that

Meme slut: ive kidnapped lance like twice now i dont play games

**Daddy dearest >>>Super Shiro**

Daddy dearest: can i go to pidges after practice

Daddy dearest: they said they have a mothman documentary

“Keith!” Somebody was calling to him. Keith looked up, quickly slipping his phone into his pocket. A tall boy with longish dyed silver hair was waving to him. Keith couldn’t help but break into a grin feeling his chest sigh with happiness. _Lotor._

Keith met Lotor his freshman year when they both had freshman gym first period. They bonded over a hatred of running and public showers. At first it was just a casual friendship. They waved in the halls, occasionally ate lunch together, texted once every now and then. Slowly they began to bond and grow closer as friends until Lotor finally had the balls to ask Keith out before Christmas last year. Keith, who’d been crushing on the boy for an entire year, said yes and thus began their relationship.

Lotor opened his arms and Keith fell into them, letting Lotor peck his lips quickly. He felt something hum in his chest as arms snaked around his waist and he looked up into soft amber eyes.

“You’re in a good mood,” Lotor chuckled. “Care to share?”

“I got my phone back,” Keith said, grinning.

“Awesome,” Lotor smiled. “That’s great. Now you’ll be able to text me all the time.”

“Yeah, I know.” Keith sighed. “I’m just glad Sean trusts me again.”

Sean was Keith’s code name for Shiro. Keith knew Lotor wasn’t stupid and he knew Lotor was on Galra Elite, the enemy of Altea Allstars. Lotor would recognize the name Shiro as it wasn’t exactly a common name and put two and two together. Keith had heard Lotor rant about how stupid Altea was enough to know that if he found out about Keith’s connection they’d be finished.

“Yeah,” Lotor said a little distractedly. “That’s great. Do you have work again tonight?”

“Mhm,” Keith lied. Work was his code name for Voltron practice. “And on Friday too, but I’m free all day on Saturday unless something comes up.”

“What would come up?” Lotor asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing just a bit. Keith felt panic rise a bit in his throat. He needed to defuse the situation fast.

“Oh, you know.” Keith said quickly. “Family things, or school stuff, things like that.”  
“You seem to be awfully busy lately,” Lotor said slowly. “Something up?”

“No,” Keith shook his head. “I swear, everything is okay, don’t worry.”

“Okay,” Lotor said slowly, clearly not convinced. “Whatever.”  
Keith breathed a sigh of relief as the bell rang, forcing them to let go and head to class. He loved his boyfriend dearly, but he was terrified of a blow up. He felt like he had to tiptoe around Lotor, like he was an active minefield just waiting to be set off by just one word or action. But it was okay, Keith was okay. Everything was okay right now. Keith knew what to avoid and how to make his boyfriend happy. He didn’t mind it, really. He loved his boyfriend. He loved hearing him laugh and making him smile. He liked holding his hand in the hallways and kissing him when they passed between classes. He lived for all that cute sappy shit that had once appalled him in his youth. The fights were horrible, awful, terrifying. Getting yelled at made Keith feel so small, but being told how handsome he was and going on dates made up for all that.

It really did.

It really, truly did.

 

**Lance**

 

**everyone in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Meme slut: it is lunch

Funshine: it is indeed

Meme slut: where the fuck are you guys

Funshine: boy’s bathroom 800 wing

Meme slut: wh

Meme slut: why

Funshine: to say lance is having a bad day is a bit of an understatement

Meme slut: im on my way

Meme slut: how bad is it

Funshine: playdough bad

Meme slut: give me a few minutes

 

As far as days go, today was certainly not one of Lance’s better ones. It had started out awful and it had only retrogressed from there. After being woken up by his phone’s email notification Lance hadn’t been able to fall back asleep. He just started up at his ceiling which was dotted with those sticky glow in the dark stars, waiting for oblivion to take him, but it never did. Instead his mind went racing at breakneck speeds, trying to plan out what he’d say to Pidge about Keith. This wasn’t exactly abnormal for Lance. Most nights his mind just never shut down. It would take hours before his thoughts to slow to an even marginally manageable level for him to sleep. Then he would be woken up by the slightest movements or sounds for a few hours until he finally hit that deep sleep stage. Then once he was there waking him up again was like raising the dead. It was basically something only Jesus could do.

Though sleep was a difficult thing to achieve, it was probably one of Lance’s favorite activities. Maybe his mind never truly shut down, but at least when he was asleep at least he didn’t have to experience it. He didn’t have to experience much of anything actually and that was a blessing. His ADHD brain affected his perception of everything. Lights were brighter harsher, colors more vivid, sounds amplified, smells and sensations heightened beyond a processable level. He was pretty good at sorting things out now, at pushing through it all and focus as best he could on what he needed to, but sometimes it got overwhelming. His skin would itch, his chest would constrict. Adrenaline would kick in and he’d have an incredible urge to run, to get away from this place as fast as possible, but he couldn’t move. He felt locked in his body, unable to move or speak. Normally it was in a public place, so the best he could do was suffer in silence until Hunk or his mom noticed something was up. But today had been different.

The day before a test in his Literature class his teacher always made a kahoot game so they could review. Lance’s mind was already racing from trying to plan out what he’d say to Pidge about to Keith, and he could’ve sworn his heart sank to China when he heard that Kahoot music. With everything that had been going on lately he’d totally forgotten about the Literature quiz. His parents were gonna kill him if he got another bad grade. They’d already threatened pulling him off Voltron his grades slipped.

He forced himself to breathe as he got out his laptop and did a quick review session on Quizlet. Fortunately most of the terms seemed to be your standard literature terms like ‘plot’ and ‘rising action’. He started to relax. Okay, crisis averted for now. He slipped out his phone and opened the group chat.

 

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

Lacne: kahoot code 17768

Meme slut: fuck yES

Meme slut: im naming myself eat me jesus

Funshine: im suffering™

Lacne: im lacne

Lacne: EAT ME JESUS IS IN FIRST

Meme slut: the power of the loRD COMPELS YOU

Meme slut: omf this answer key is literally just a pattern

Meme slut: i hacked in to find the answers

Lacne: is that why ur still in first

Funshine: im like in last

Lacne: thE WhOlE clAsS is trying To fIGuRE oUT

Lacne: wHO EAT Me jEssus iS

Meme slut: B)

 

For the past 2 years he’d been able to just ignore Keith’s presence. He just walked by Keith, ignoring him, pretending he wasn’t there. The first few months it was hard, but then it seemed to be automatic. He stopped noticing Keith in the hallways, stopped getting a little lurching feeling when he entered classes he knew Keith was leaving from or passing by. His brain just filtered Keith out.

But now that Keith had joined Voltron and Lance had to see him nearly every day at practice the filter seemed to be breaking down. Now he seemed to see the guy everywhere he looked. All he had to do was walk down a hallways to see that familiar mullet and red jacket. He could have sworn Keith wasn’t in his Physics class, but that morning when he walked in there he was, studying some physics notes. He had to do a double take just to make sure it was really him. Unfortunately it was. Then there was the fact that every time Lance went to the bathroom he usually saw Keith in there as well. Did Keith always have to pee in between 4th and 5th period and Lance had just never noticed him before? It didn’t matter now, all that mattered was that every time he saw Keith he was reminded of the incident 2 years ago and it was slowly wearing down his mental stability.

By pre-calc he was a poorly put together mess running on 3 hours of sleep and self destructive impulses. He nearly fell asleep during notes, only avoiding nodding off because Hunk was shaking him every time his head drooped.

“You okay?” Hunk mouthed the fourth or fifth time it happened. Lance nodded and rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on what Mr. Gilbert was saying. Something about 3-D plane vectors. When the hell would he ever need to know this in his real life? He just jotted down a few lines and let his mind wander. Big mistake.

What were they doing for practice today? First he had that private stunt with Pidge, which he knew was going to be awful. He could barely keep focus now, how was he going to do when he was tossing around a human being? Oh God, what if he dropped Pidge and injured them? What if the injury was permanent and they had to leave Voltron? How would they beat GSX then? It would be all his fault. The entire team would blame him. He could practically feel their stares on him. They would all say that they had been right, Allura should have never put Lance on the team. He was a failure and a terrible base and a terrible friend and-

“Lance,” Whispered Hunk.

Lance blinked, realizing he was breathing too fast. He forced himself to calm down, for his breathing to slow and heart rate to resemble something human and less that of a terrified hamster. He squeezed his fist, then let it fall limp again. He couldn’t let his thoughts run away like that, unbridled like a horse, free to leap into the darker meadows.

The Kahoot theme stuck was stuck in his head, playing over and over again as the colors of the answer buttons flashed through his mind. Blue, yellow green, and red, red like Keith’s favorite color, the color of his jacket. Like Keith. He put his head down on the desk, giving up. His mind buzzed and skin itched as Mr. Gilbert droned on and on about numbers and math. Stupid math that he was failing because he’d never amount to anything ever. Only 5% of adults with ADHD graduate college, the odds weren’t looking too good for him. His parents had always joked that Lance would be living in their basement, and for a while he’d laughed along with them but really it was greatest fear, that he’d fail.

“Lance!” Hunk was shaking him. The bell signaling the end of class was ringing in his ears. Hunk’s voice sounded far off, as if it were coming from the end of a tunnel. “Oh God, yeah uh, I’ll take him down to guidance. You bet Mr. Gilbert. C’mon Lance.”

Not guidance, he wanted to say. Dear lord, anything but guidance. The school counselors wouldn’t be able to help him, but he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move. He was being pulled to his feet. He was rubbing his hands together. He was hyperventilating. He was overstimulated. Oh god. Everybody was staring at him. He was a crying, stimming mess. He hated this. He hated not being in control of himself. He hated himself and this stupid disorder so much.

He was vaguely aware of Hunk leading him down a hall, barely able to process his surroundings from the overwhelming urge to run. He heard his shoes hit tile, bathroom tile. The click of a stall door.

“Just breathe.” Hunk instructed, pulling out a paper bag and pressing it into Lance’s hands.

Lance nodded numbly, fingers fumbling to hold it over his mouth. He closed his eyes and tried to focus solely on breathing in and out into the bag, hearing the crinkling paper and feeling the rough surface chafe against his lips.

“I have play dough in my bag.” Hunk said gently. “You want it?”

Lance nodded, blindly holding out a shaking hand and praying he got it right. His hearing was out of whack. He couldn’t tell if Hunk was to his right, to his left, in front of him or behind him. He felt something cool and squishy being pressed into his palm. He closed his fist around it and felt it squeeze slowly his fingers. He balled it up again and squeezed slower this time, concentrating on the sensations of playdough. He began to relax, his breathing slowing down and head clearing. He was going to be okay, he was sitting in the handicap stall of the men’s bathroom with playdough and Hunk.

“Pidge is coming.” Hunk said after a few moments of silence. “They just texted me, but I can tell them to go away if you don’t want them too.”

“It’s fine,” Lance mumbled miserably, handing the bag back to Hunk. “Thanks.”

“Any time,” Hunk said, carefully folding up the bag. “You okay?”

“No,” Lance muttered, pulling his knees to his chest and rolling the playdough into a snake with his hands. When it got too long and thin and threatened to fall apart he squished it back together again and started over.

“Did something happen at home?” Hunk asked after a minute or two, sitting criss cross applesauce in front of Lance.

Lance shook his head. “I just got overwhelmed with my own thoughts.”

“I’m sorry,” Hunk murmured sympathetically. “You want to talk about it?”

“No,” Lance said flatly, resting his head back against the bathroom wall and taking in a deep, shuddery breath. That was a lie, he did, but he didn’t want to relive his mind right now. “Maybe later.”

“Okay,” Hunk said. “I’m going to pull out my lunch since we’re missing it. Want anything?”

Lance shook his head again, smashing the play dough snake. His stomach churned at the very thought of food. He’d regret this decision later, but right now he felt too queasy.

“During study hall I can get my pillow pet from my locker and Pidge and I can hide you so you can sleep.” Hunk offered.

“That’d be great.” Lance laughed shakily. “I just need to calm down okay?”

“Hey there you meme loving fucks,” Pidge’s voice rang out. Lance opened his eyes to see a pair of tennis shoes outside the stall door. “Open up.”

Hunk reached up and unlatched the handicapped stall allowing for Pige to saunter in. They were wearing an oversized light green sweater and overalls that were cut off to be shorts. Their short hair was pulled back in a stubby little sprout of hair from a little green scrunchy that Lance’s mama would have called a palm tree. Their glasses glinted in the flourescent lights of the bathroom as they sat down.

“I brought Ritalin, chick-fil-a I stole from Mike Plowski, and a coke,” They said uncapping an orange bottle. “Which one you want first?”

Ritalin. Fuck. Lance just realized he forgot to take his concerta ER that morning.

“Ritalin,” He said holding out his hands. Pidge snapped open the coke, took a swig then handed it to Lance. Then they handed him a small capsule. Lance popped it in his mouth and washed it down with a mouthful of Coke. “Thanks Pidge.”

“Woah, woah, you’re taking Ritalin?” Hunk asked. “Where did you get Ritalin Pidge? And why are you taking it Lance? I thought you were against pill sharing?!”

“Relax mother hen,” Pidge rolled their eyes, tossing Hunk the bottle. Hunk caught it in fumbling hands and read the label.

“Wait, this is Lance’s?” He asked, confused.

“Yeah, it’s a booster I take.” Lance said feebly, wrapping his hands around the cool can of coke, feeling the bubbles fizz in his mouth. “15 mg, enough for 6 hours.”

“Oh,” Hunk shifted handing the pills back to Pidge. “Then why does Pidge have them?”

“I stole them from the Nurse.” They shrugged, adjusting their glasses.

“So you stole the pills and the Chick-fil-a?” Hunk raised an eyebrow. “Did you steal the Coke too?”

“If I happened to find a dollar fifty in Mike’s pocket when I snagged his bag does it count as stealing?” They snickered. “Not that he cares. He was just trying to look at my boobs.”

“You’re binding today!” Hunk argued pointing to the tell tale strap that peaked out from behind their sweater collar. Pidge shrugged.

“I might have slipped it off and whispered that I wasn’t wearing a bra into Mike’s ear and while he was gawking I just took what I needed.” Pidge said simply, stealing a waffle fry from the bag. “My friend was in need of fries more than I was in need of a flat chest.”

Lance laughed, making grabby hands for the bag. “I love you Pidge.”

“Just doing my duty as best friend and flyer,” Pidge smirked handing it to him. “But you’re so sharing those fries.”

“I thought I was your best friend!” Hunk protested.

“You both are,” Lance grinned, deciding he had two of the best people in the world sitting with him in the handicap stall of a high school bathroom.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -screeeeeeeeeeeching-  
> i love their squad so much like i can see hunk keeping play dough in his back pack for lacne and LKJREHWLKRJWEr  
> platonic garrison squad is the best yes  
> we get some nice shallura next chapter lmao  
> also some paladin of dat ass (keith)  
> i got some asks from you guys on tumblr and i'd love to get more/?? im a slut for attention (and memes) so please spam my inbox ilovechickensofttacos.tumblr.com  
> fun fact if you go through my ref tag you get hints at what's gonna happen jUSt sAyinG


	5. December 2nd, December 7th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoOPS its been 2 months

**Keith**

By some miracle-or extreme blackmail- Pidge managed to get Lance to agree to let Keith into his car so he could drive them all to Pidge’s house after practice. Since Pidge had apparently called ‘shotgun infinity at conception’ and Hunk wasn’t about to contest them on this fact, Keith sat in the back with Hunk awkwardly while the other three chatted amiably, listening to cheer mixes. Being the adopted brother of cheerlebrity Takashi Shirogane, Keith had a basic understanding of cheerleading lingo, but whatever Pidge, Hunk, and Lance were discussing seemed to be a foreign language.

“There is no way Orange isn’t winning NCA,” Pidge said, shaking her head. “They have to.”

“But have you SEEN Shooting Stars synchronized tumbling section?” Lance retorted. “It’s so clean!”

“Have you seen Angel Rice?” Hunk countered to which Pidge nodded in agreement.

Keith knew who Angel Rice was. Any power tumbler worth a damn knew who Angel Rice was. She’s a world class power tumbler, ranked 9th internationally and number one in the states.

“Wait,” Keith interrupted. “Angel Rice is a cheerleader?”

“Of course she is!” Lance said. “You’re a power tumbler. How could you not know that about her?”

“Maybe because Keith isn’t nearly as into the cheer world as you are Lance,” Pidge rolled their eyes and turned around to face Keith. “She’s a two time world champion, winning once with California Allstars SMOED in 2015 and once with Stingray Allstars Orange in 2012.”

“I thought she was just a power tumbler.” Keith shrugged. Up front Lance made some sort of choking noise.

“JUST a power tumbler?” He asked incredulously. “How can anybody be just a power tumbler? Wouldn’t you get bored of just tumbling all day? No girls to throw?”

“Believe it or not,” Keith scowled folding his arms over his chest. “The answer, for anybody who isn’t trying to compensate for what might be lacking in… other areas, is yes.”

The car went silent, except for the peppy beats of some old cheer mix playing through the speakers.

“Holy shit,” Breathed Pidge in reverent awe. “I have just witnessed a fucking massacre.”

Lance stayed resiliently quiet for the rest of the car ride.

 

Keith knew that a lot of kids at Altea had to come from well off families to afford it. Allstar cheer isn’t exactly a low cost sport. Tumbling classes themselves ranged from $20 to $35 a month, plus additional weekly privates which could be more depending on space and availability. On top of that were team tuition fees ($150 a month), travel fees (up to $1,300 annually), practice uniforms (at least 2 or 3, about $30 each, plus bows which added another $50), sneakers (a good pair costs $120-150), and the competition uniforms were a whopping $400. Then there were usually music, choreography, more coach’s fees, and extra competition expenses (especially big ones like NCa, the MAJORS, Worlds) and Keith didn’t even know what those all totaled up to. All he knew was that the final cost was somewhere around $10,000 per year. So yeah, pretty expensive. The gym did have scholarships for underprivileged but talented kids or families of staff members, which is why Keith and Shiro’s gym fees weren’t nearly as bad, but they weren’t handed out lightly. Despite knowing all this, Keith was still astounded when he first saw the Holt home.

Keith knew it was going to be big when Lance drove up the secluded path to Brackenwood, their local gated upper class community. Brackenwood was a small neighborhood when it came to actually number of houses. Keith remembered somebody saying they only had about 60 or so houses, but the actual size of the community grounds were ginormous. Brackenwood was 20+ square miles of wooded terrain with 3 lakes, a country club (with both an indoor and outdoor water park), recreational center, and its own private school system (it was actually the school Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge attended) all of which were more used by people outside of the community than those who actually lived within the gates. If the property was huge it was nothing compared to the homes and the lots they sat on. They weren’t exactly castles, though it sort of felt like it, and they were so spread apart that you could drive for 5 minutes and not see a single house. Dense forests surrounded properties making each one seem like the only shelter for miles, which it was in some cases.

But Keith had never really pegged Pidge or Matt as Brackenwood kids. Going to the Garrison he knew quite a lot of Brackenwood families, and they had a distinctive air about them. It wasn’t like they were that stereotype of super snotty stuck ups, in fact, most of them were some of the genuinely nicest and most generous kids Keith had ever met. However, the only life they knew was one of luxury. They’d grown up in an upper class bubble with no real insight into the lives of those with a less fortunate socio-economic status. In other words, they didn’t really have any other perspective of the world but their own. Most were surprised to learn that Keith and Shiro lived in a one-story home and regularly consumed boxed mac-n-cheese or ramen noodles (not because they couldn’t afford anything else, they could, they just didn’t know how to cook, like at all) for dinner. He remembered having conversations with Brackenwood kids about their vacations and hearing about all their crazy adventures and having to say ‘oh, I just helped my brother clean up around the gym’. The kids always laughed it off, saying there was nothing wrong with a stay-cation, but notably rarely took them at all. It wasn't like they were ignorant, or rude, this was just the only life they had known and Keith didn’t hold that against him.

Regardless, he had never pegged the Holts as a Brackenwood family. He’d only just met Pidge, but he’d known the Holts since he moved in with Shiro’s family when he was a little kid, especially Matt. Shiro and Matt were more or less best friends, spending a lot of time together and grudgingly let Keith tag along. Matt always seemed so down to Earth, and so did his family. It was just hard to believe they lived in Brackenwood. But sure enough Lance stopped his car in front of a modern styled house with a spacious, snow covered lawn and lights along the shoveled and salted driveway. Lance pulled up the drive, coming to a stop beneath an elevated loft of the house.

“Welcome to Casa de Holt,” Pidge announced, smirking at the look on Keith’s face. Keith looked away, feeling a little embarrassed. It was probably rude to stare. Pidge seemed to pick up on his unease. “Don’t worry, everybody reacts like that when they see the house for the first time. You should have seen Lance’s face. It was priceless.”

“How was I supposed to know you lived in a geometric castle?” Lance grumbled a little irritably, handing them their cheer bag. He pulled Hunk’s out too, passing it over, but Keith’s he just pulled out and let fall to the ground. Keith didn’t say a word, he just picked it up and followed Pidge up to the front porch.

“Is that Lance’s voice?” A voice called from the door. Keith looked over to see Matthew Holt standing in the open front door, leaning against the frame in an old ‘Altea Allstars’ sweatshirt and jeans and when he spotted Keith his eyes sort of glinted behind his round glasses. “Pidge! You didn’t tell me Keith was coming.”

“Didn’t know I was obligated to,” They grumbled, as they climbed the steps. “Move over asswipe, it’s fuckign cold out here. There better be leftover hot chocolate.”

Matt stayed silent, taking a sip from a steaming mug. He stepped aside and gave Pidge a smirk identical to the one Pidge had given Keith just moments before.

They narrowed their eyes suspiciously. “That’s the last of it isn’t it.”

Matt’s smirk only widened in playful malice.

“Asshole.” They muttered stalking past them into the brightly lit house.

Lance followed them, kicking off his shoes and then picking them up to set neatly by the wall. Keith took the hint and did the same, a little farther away from Lance’s.

From the entryway Keith had a clear view into the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The house’s modern exterior extended to the inside as well. The kitchen and living room took their hues from the same soft grays and white tones. A mosaic of pictures of the Holt family spread over the wall. Keith could see several cheer themed ones, including team headshots and competition action shots. A fire (probably artificial) crackled merrily in a cubic like fireplace. Large windows let plenty of natural light in and revealed a beautiful overlook of the lake below. Keith could see a boat dock at the frozen water’s edge.

“Hi Matt!” Hunk beamed as he walked through the door. “How was work?”

“Pretty good.” Matt said, closing the door behind Hunk. “A little dull, but to be honest I’d take dull over Shiro’s death conditioning.”

“Me too.” Lance said dryly. “I bet you don’t miss Voltron at all.”

“Oh, I do,” Matt mused. “I miss the competitions and the tumbling and all that. I miss the people too. I just… don’t miss the workouts from Hell.”

“After next week we won’t have conditioning only days right?” Pidge asked, shimmying out of their jacket to reveal Voltron practicewear. “Don’t they always shorten it to 3 practices a week once competitions start up?”

Lance and Hunk hung up their jackets in a closets, Hunk keeping his shirt on while Lance, who probably hadn’t even brought one to practice, stayed bare chested

“Uh, I think so,” Keith confirmed, crossing his arms almost defensively over his chest.

“Thank God.” Hunk said and Lance echoed a groan of agreement.

“Mom restocked the fridge downstairs with gatorade,” Matt said. “I assume that’s where you’re headed?”

Pidge nodded excitedly. “I got a new cryptid documentary!”

Lance and Hunk groaned again, but this time in exasperation.

“What?” Pidge asked, scowling at them.

“Literally nobody is into that but you,” Lance said. “I wouldn’t have come over if I had known that.”

“No offense,” Hunk said guilty. “But yeah, I’m with Lance on this one.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you about it.” Pidge rolled their eyes. “But too bad, we’re watching it. You guys can… do whatever the fuck you want else but Keith and I are watching it.”

“Keith isn’t into it either,” Lance called, scrolling through his phone.

“Actually? I am.” Keith corrected, his voice a little more venomous than he meant it to be. _Woah there Keith, reign it in._ “And I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t speak for me Lance.”

Whoops.

Silence fell over the room, the kind of silence that oozes through the atmosphere like sap down the side of the tree, sickly and icky. Pidge, Matt, and Hunk waited with nervously, eyes flickering back and forth between Lance and

“Ah- shit,” He swore, scratching the back of his neck. He could feel his cheeks turning bright red from embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to snap Lance, both just now and in the car. I’m sorry.”

Keith actually meant it. He had no right to say what he said on both occasions. He was always so impulsive, a act now think later mentality. In his youth, hell even in his adolescence, and it had gotten him into some serious trouble. Though he was working to curb it, he still had a lot more work to do.

“It’s fine.” Lance said stiffly, but not rejecting the apology. “I shouldn’t have assumed what your interests were. Let’s go watch this documentary.”

 

**meme slut >>>daddy dearest**

meme slut: hey, im sorry about lance

meme slut: hes just bein a clit baby

daddy dearest: a

daddy dearest: w h a t

meme slut: you know

meme slut: a clit baby???

meme slut: a pussy?????? whiny ass pussy???

daddy dearest: jeSus where did you hear that

meme slut: i made it up to describe lance just now

daddy dearest: lmao pidge its fine

daddy dearest: i mean

daddy dearest: it’s not like he was throwing insults down in the basement

daddy dearest: he was pretty silent

meme slut: but lance is neVER silent so i mean it was still unsettling

meme slut: i dont understand why he’s being like this

meme slut: and hunk wont tell me either

daddy dearest: aha

daddy dearest: yeah idk man

daddy dearest: i need to get some sleep night pidge, thanks for having me

meme slut: night daddy <3333

 

**daddy dearest >>>prince**

daddy dearest: Sorry about being unable to hang out last night, ! got invited to a weird thing at a friend’s house and you know how my brother is about being social and all.

daddy dearest: Anyways, I know it’s late and you’re probably sleeping, so good night babe! I love you!

 

The first thing that registered in Keith’s mind when he first woke up was the scent of smoke. It itched at his nostrils, making him gag slightly. Had Shiro forgotten to unplug the toaster again? Sometimes he did that in his rush to make his early morning workouts with Allura. In that case Keith should probably get up and unplug it. He sat up sleepily, preparing himself for the sheet of ice that was the hardwood of his bedroom. But when Keith swung his feet over to the floor he let out a sharp cry of pain because it wasn’t cold, it was hot, burning hot. His eyes flung open at the sudden shock only to find that his room was swathed in a thick, gray haze. The smoke stung his eyes and made his lungs cry out for air as he clutched his blistering foot.

_His room was on fire._

Orange flames greedily licked up his walls, turning the red paint black and devouring the pictures hung there. Keith watched in horror as the photo of his family, his parents and Shiro on the day he was adopted, turned to nothing but dark ash in front of his eyes. The ribbons that hung up his medals curled to blackened shreds, the metal circles falling to the ground with a dull thunk. The crackling sound of burning wood, usually so friendly to Keith’s ears at bonfires, was a deafening, threatening roar against his ear drums. The merciless blaze was consuming anything and everything it touched, and spitting it all back out as crackling sparks and choking smoke.

He looked around desperately for a way out, but the fire had spread to his floors, and he wasn’t going to get very far on this burned foot. There was the window, but it was at least 6 or 7 feet of hot floors away and another 2 story drop right into his foster mother’s rose bushes. Not a very safe way to reach safety after all. If he threw his quilt out over the flames it might give him some cover and allow him to slip out the door, but the fire seemed to have come from that hallway. His chances of finding his path free of any flames was slim to none.

Panic began to consume him, and it was then, throat burned by the smoke, that he began to cry. The heat of the room made the tears seem to evaporate right off his skin, and the gasping, shuddering breaths forced him to inhale even more smoke which only made his throat feel worse, but he didn’t care. He’d suffered through how many years of Hell of in foster care and this was how he was going to die? Burned alive in the one place he had ever considered home? If this is how God treats his creatures then Keith wanted no part of it. He wanted to let out a scream of terror and rage but all that came out was a pitiful whine. He hugged his red lion and blankets to his chest, sobbing into them.

Then his door banged open, startling him. He looked up to see Shiro, using his elbow to cover his mouth in the doorway. He had wrapped a quilt around his shoulders to protect himself from the flames and was wearing some of mom’s gardening boots.

“Shiro!” Keith spluttered, his voice breaking off into coughs.

“Keith!” He managed, running for him and scooping him off the bed like he weighed nothing. “It’s okay Keith, I’ve got you. I’m going to get you to safety.”

Keith clutched at Shiro’s shirt, nodding and sobbing as Shiro pulled the quilt over him. His shirt smelled like sweat and gatorade, he must have just come back from Voltron practice from Altea Allstars. With Worlds coming up Altea Allstars was keeping their  teams later and later, and Shiro always stayed behind extra for a stunting lesson with Allura and Coran. He buried his face into it, letting the faint scent of the disinfectant they sprayed down the mats with at Altea Allstars with waft up into his nose and mingle with the smoke.

Keith squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on Altea Allstars. If he tried, he could see the gym in his mind with its blue spring floors and inclined mats. When he got scared or upset he always tried picturing himself in the gym, working through new passes with Shiro or Coran. Keith loved to tumble. He loved the slamming sensation of landing on the spring floors and the thrill of launching off into a new skill. His tumbling was intangible, traveling with him wherever he went. It was something he could call completely his own unlike anything he’d ever had before in his life. He didn’t want that to end.

“Just down the steps,” Shiro breathed, his voice sounding scratchy from the smoke. “The firemen are out there. And so is mom and dad. It’s gonna be okay Keith, it’s gonna be okay.”

Keith let out a whimper. He felt Shiro’s body weight shift as he descended the steps quickly. The air was so hot and hazy. They must be traveling through the worst of it. Keith felt a droplet of Shiro’s sweat fall onto his body. The quilt was insulating the heat of the fire, but it was also protecting them from the worst of the flames.

“Just a few more steps.” Shiro assured him. “Then we’ll be-”

But whatever they were going to be evaporated into the air as the stairway beneath them caved in. Keith heard Shiro scream in pure terror, a sound he’d never heard Shiro make before. In the split second of airtime Shiro began to twist his body around so Keith was on top of Shiro’s chest, staring up at the burning ceiling as the world fizzled out into smoke and pain as they crashed to the floor.

 

_Thump._

Keith woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. The feeling of the smoke choking his throat was still so real in his mind it took him a moment to realize that he wasn’t actually in that fire and he wasn’t falling through the air, though he had fallen off of his bed. He let out a shudder and reached over to grab his phone off of his nightstand. For a moment he was blinded by the brightness of his screen, but his eyes quickly adjusted so he could see his lock screen image, a picture of himself holding the gold medal in power tumbling at a national competition.

4:13 am, too early to get up and start the day, but too late to hope of getting anything more than an extra half hour of sleep. He sighed and opened up his phone and clicking the text message app. Lotor hadn’t responded to his text, which made Keith a little panicky. Was Lotor upset with him? No use texting him about it. He’d see him soon enough. Keith let out a sigh and set his phone back on his bedside table. Besides, it wasn’t like Lotor would tell him what was wrong. Lotor always just expected Keith to know what was on his mind or why he was acting a certain way. Even when Keith said ‘I don’t understand, what’s wrong?’ he always responded ‘You should damn well know what’s wrong!’ and that would be that.

Still, even if Lotor was mad, Keith really needed to talk to somebody.

 

**daddy dearest >>>prince**

daddy dearest: babe? I know you’re probably sleeping, but I really need to talk somebody.

 

Within 30 seconds Keith saw the read receipt pop up. For a moment his heart leapt, not really expecting but hoping for the ‘prince is typing…’ text, but after a full minute of waiting Keith realized Lotor had no intention of replying. He’d just looked at it and put his phone down. For a moment Keith was infuriated. All those time he had snuck out just help out Lotor, and Lotor couldn’t return the favor once? But then he calmed himself. He couldn’t really expect his boyfriend to be there for him at all times. Lotor was probably… busy. With what he could be busy with at 4 in the morning Keith didn’t know, but it was better to believe that than the alternative.

He ran a hand through his hair, feeling how sweaty he was from his dream. He’d have to shower in the morning, but for now it was best that he at least tried to get more sleep. He’d need it for the hell week ahead. It was his last week before the competition season officially began. After this week team Voltron would scale back their practices to 3 times a week, but probably add on extras here and there before important competitions. Keith had only lived through just a few days of full week practices and he was already endlessly thankful for the 3 day weeks ahead. He was only 17 and already having difficulty moving up and down stairs because his back was sore all the damn time. He always came home drained from full outs and death conditioning, barely able to choke down dinner and shower off before crashing in his bed. He barely had time for himself anymore, let alone anything else outside of schoolwork and assisting Shiro around the house, even Lotor.

He sighed looking at his dark phone screen. He needed to tell Lotor that after the next week he’d be more available. They’d barely seen each other outside of school, and Keith knew Lotor didn’t like not being around him. Once when Keith had to go with Shiro to a coaching conference Lotor pouted for a whole week. He wouldn’t talk to Keith or even look at him. Keith tried to talk to him, tell him that he didn’t have a choice and that he’d be back. But Lotor had just acted like he wasn’t even there. That had made Keith’s head ache and his chest constrict. The week was supposed to have been fun, a vacation from school just to hang out with his big brother, but instead he’d spent most of it frantically checking his texts, crying, and rarely left his hotel room. He’d been so distraught about Lotor leaving him and not wanting him anymore that he felt like he was being eaten alive. When he finally got home Lotor acted like nothing had happened, and Keith decided it was best to just forget about it.

But it was okay. He had Lotor now and that was all that mattered, right?

“Keith?” A sleep ridden voice called into room and Keith startled a bit, turning to see Shiro was standing in the doorway. Shiro’s footsteps had been so silent he hadn’t heard him approaching, and since he didn’t have a door, no hinges had warned him of it either. “Is everything okay? I came up because I heard a noise.”

“Yeah,” Keith breathed shakily. “I just fell out of my bed.”

“Dreams?” Shiro asked, brow furrowing slightly in concern as he leaned against the doorway.

Keith nodded trying not to look at the stump of Shiro’s right arm, but it was no use. Shiro noticed.

“It was the stairway, wasn’t it.” He murmured gently.

Keith let out a reluctant sigh and nodded. “Yeah… it was.”

“I’m sorry Keith,” Shiro said softly. “I wish I could make them stop-”

“Why are you apologizing?” Keith snapped without meaning to. He got to his feet to make himself level, but it didn’t really matter. Shiro was several inches taller than him. “You lost your arm in that fire!”

“Keith-” Shiro began, but Keith cut him off.

“If anybody should be apologizing it should be me!” Keith shouted, his voice cracking at the last words. His eyes welled up with tears. Shiro was staring at him with what looked to be deep concern, or maybe fear. Keith hadn’t yelled at Shiro in a long time.

Keith wiped at his eyes as he felt his chest caving in to reveal the miserable ache beneath it.

“Oh Keith,” Shiro crossed the floor and wrapped his arm and a half around Keith. Keith fell into them and began to cry. All the anger and sorrow seeped out of him, pooling into the droplets that fell onto Shiro’s shirt. He let out all his frustration at Lotor, anxiety about making friends, and resentment of himself out in shuddery gasping sobs. Shiro didn’t say a word. He didn’t ask if the dreams were the real reason Keith was upset. He just held him there until Keith finally managed to pull himself together.

 

**Wednesday, December 7th**

 

**super shiro >>>daddy dearest**

super shiro: you really need to change your screen name

daddy dearest: ummm

daddy dearest: y

super shiro: you know why keith

daddy dearest: no… i do not…

super shiro: you know what nevermind

super shiro: how was your private lesson with pidge?

daddy dearest: horrible.

daddy dearest: tbh, i dont really think they can throw a full safely

daddy dearest: having a full is required to be on voltron

daddy dearest: i can think of at least 4 tumblers from nebula who are better fits for the team

daddy dearest: hell, there are people on wavelength and pegasus who are better

daddy dearest: why are they on voltron

super shiro: their exceptional flyer skills make them a well rounded athlete

super shiro: and i know there is a lot that needs work in tumbling

super shiro: they cant be that bad

super shiro: right???

daddy dearest: i would love to say yea

daddy dearest: but they just fell out of a full bc they twisted but they didn’t flip

daddy dearest: so yeah

daddy dearest: its pretty bad

daddy dearest: also when we go to spot double drills

daddy dearest: not even a double itself just the drills

daddy dearest: they freeze up

super shiro: oh that’s explainable

super shiro: two or three years ago they tore a tendon in a double full

super shiro: they’re just a little nervous i guess

daddy dearest: i mean ok

daddy dearest: but that was like 3 years ago

daddy dearest: they’ve had plenty of time to get over it

super shiro: okay but we aren’t all Keith ‘I broke my toe in warm ups but I’ll get gold in Power Tumbling Worlds Anyways’ Kogane y’know

daddy dearest: yeah but

daddy dearest: you lost your arm and you were back on the mat within a few weeks developing ways to tumble

super shiro: but once a limb is gone i mean… you arent really injured anymore

super shiro: its gone

super shiro: no tenderness to work around

super shiro: i mean yeah phantom pains are a bitch

super shiro: but once you feel well enough to go… you can

daddy dearest: oh...

 

**probably einstein >>>super shiro**

probably einstein: why did my little sibling just send me a video of keith failing to do back walkovers

super shiro: what

**probably einstein sent a video**

super shiro: oh my god

super shiro: i cant believe im his legal guardian

super shiro: this is pathetic???

probably einstein: isnt he training to try out for the national team this year

super shiro: yeah

probably einstein: and he cant

probably einstein: do a back walkover??

super shiro: i guess not??

super shiro: idk it’s not like we practice them a lot

super shiro: also can you help coach today

super shiro: allura’s sick

**meme slut >>>probably einstein**

meme slut: hey can you bring an extra set of practice wear

probably einstein: i mean sure

meme slut: thank my extra black set is on top of the laundry machine i think

probably einstein: got it

probably einstein: but why do you need it

meme slut: lura just puked all over me

meme slut: oh my god i think this is mcdonalds???

meme slut: yeah… this is definitely a mcdonalds french fry

meme slut: and she nags us not to eat there

meme slut: this is disgusting

**Adulting 101**

**probably einstein has sent an image**

probably einstein: e x p l a i n

probably einstein: you filthy hypocrite

galli-AYO: UH

galli-AYO: SHIRO TOOK ME TO MCDONALDS FOR LUNCH

probably einstein: w a it

probably einstein: was it a date

super shiro: i’d hardly call big macs in a parking lot outside of the elementary school a date

probably einstein: but it was

probably einstein: it totally was

galli-AYO: no

galli-AYO: i just used my temptress powers to ensnare a free meal

galli-AYO: that did nto agree with me i need to throw up again brb

**probably einstein >>>meme slut**

**probably einstein has sent an image**

probably einstein: but that’s none of my business tho

meme slut: SHALLURA CONFIRMED

**everybody in the middle pyramid stunt group except rolo bc hes a pussy**

**meme slut has sent an image**

meme slut: GUYS LOOK

lacne: lkwherlkwjehrlkjwehrlkjwehlkrhewlkrhlkewhrlkjhwpeurhlf

funshine: THEY WENT ON A D A T E

meme slut: i would have gotten out of the bathroom to show you in person but

meme slut: two very hot cheerleaders wearing only nike pros and sports bras

meme slut: are touching my body

lacne: why couldnt allura barf on me :’(

funshine: uh

funshine: nyma and shay wouldnt wipe you down

funshine: it would have me

lacne: even better

funshine: and keith??? Probably??

lacne: yeah good point nvm

**daddy dearest >>>meme slut**

daddy dearest: you ok

meme slut: i am replaying the sight of allura heaving repeatedly

meme slut: covered in half digested french fries

meme slut: and shay and nyma are currently wiping vomit off of me

meme slut: but i have this

**meme slut sent an image**

meme slut: so im doing great

daddy dearest: IM SHRIEKING


	6. Chapter 6

**Altea All Stars: Universal Excellence**

**Competition Packing list for Spark Your Spirit Dec 9th-Dec 10th**

Competition Uniform

Competition Bow

Gym Jacket

Team Jacket (Senior 5 only)

Competition Shoes

Makeup/hair supplies

Toiletries for bus ride (No opportunity to shower this time! Sorry!)

 

**the cool kids of voltron**

meme slut: allura

meme slut: why arent we showering on sys

galli-AYO: bc last time we accidentally left lance at the truck stop and drove without him for 3 HOURS

lacne: i fuckin remember that

lacne: i was in hysterics

probably einstein: it was the most hilarious thing ever tbh

daddy dearest: wait wait how did none of you notice lance was missing

daddy dearest: he literally never shuts up

daddy dearest: no offense

lacne: none taken lmao

funshine: in my defense it was 3 am and i was exhausted

super shiro: we all were

lacne: im still pissed about it

galli-AYO: and to avoid that we arent showering this time

meme slut: so i have to sit on a bus for 18 hours all stinky from competition??

super shiro: we could pour the water cooler on you

meme slut: mmmm

meme slut: ice water in december

meme slut: ill pass you up on that one

 

**Lance**

Over the past week Keith had slowly started creeping into Lance’s friend group. Lance grudgingly accepted that no matter what he said or did he couldn’t really prevent it especially since Pidge was so adamant on this or at least that’s what he told himself when Keith started tagging along on all their after practice shenanigans and warming up with them in practice. Keith became such a regular in their group that by Thursday of week 2 Lance agreed to pick Keith up for practice when Shiro wasn’t able to.

“You don’t know what this means Lance,” Keith said as slid into the front seat of the car.

“Anything to help Shiro,” Lance replied coolly, trying to subtly let Keith know that he would never do this if Keith didn’t have a good reason. “And I wouldn’t sit there if I were you. Pidge claims to have called shotgun infinity at the time of their conception.”

“We’re already moving I can’t just climb into the backseat.” Keith said, scrolling through his phone. 

“Then you better be prepared to get out when we get to Pidge’s house.” Lance replied taking a turn out of Pebblecreek, Keith’s neighborhood. 

Lance had been kind of surprised to learn Keith lived in Pebblecreek. It was one of the poorer neighborhoods in town and while Lance hadn’t expected Keith and Shiro to be rolling in it, he hadn’t really expected them to share a single story home together. Admittedly their house looked a little more taken care of then some of the other residences, but still, it was Pebblecreek. Lance remembered the first time he’d ever gone to Keith’s house once in the seventh grade and had asked Keith why they were living in Pebblecreek. Keith had shrugged, saying it was easier for Shiro to get around in a one story home. Lance wasn’t sure how a guy with double fulls could be troubled by stairs but decided that asking the amputee wasn’t the best idea. 

They drove on in silence for a few minutes before Keith spoke. 

“So,” Keith said casually. “Are you packed for the competition?”

“Yep,” Lance replied, popping the p. “I finished it all last night. I like being ahead of schedule so I’m not rushing 5 minutes before we leave. Helps to prevent me forgetting stuff.”

“Oh,” Keith said. “I, uh, haven’t really started? I probably will tonight.”

“Cool.” Lance nodded dully, hoping Keith would infer from his tone that Lance would prefer silence. 

“Do you remember taking cadet tumbling lessons with Alfor?” Keith asked either ignoring or not picking up on Lance’s subtle hints that he wasn’t in the mood to rekindle a friendship. “Back when Shiro had two arms?”

Lance didn’t say anything. He didn’t really want to talk to Keith like nothing had ever happened two years ago, didn’t want to just push that aside and pretend they were still friends because they weren’t. But reminiscing about the past seemed innocent enough. He’d have to shut it down if it went any farther than that.

“Yeah,” Lance sighed, tapping the wheel as they waited at a stoplight. “And how we were constantly competing.”

“I don’t really think it was much of a competition Lance,” Keith chuckled. “Hunk always beat us when it came to learning new skills.”

“Okay, that is true,” Lance agreed, allowing himself a little bit of a smile. “But there was definitely a rivalry between us, remember?”

“Mmm,” Keith said. “I’ll let you think that.”

“Hey!” Lance protested as he turned into Pidge’s neighborhood. “There totally was and you know it! It was always Lance and Keith, neck and neck on the mat.”

Keith just grinned. “It was more than neck, I was a full head in front of you.”

“The only full head is how full of yourself you are,” Lance grumbled and Keith laughed. 

It was both so familiar to Lance and so foreign. He hadn’t heard Keith’s laugh in years. He remembered how his days used to center around that laugh, before all the stupid shit happened between them. Listening to it now both delighted him and made him want to scowl. He just wasn’t sure how he felt about all this. One side of him was agreeing with Pidge, that he was totally overreacting and just needed to accept Keith, maybe not as a friend but accept his existence. Another part of him scolded him for even considering letting Keith back into his life.  _ Remember how he hurt you? Do you want that again? Don’t touch a stove you know is hot.  _

 

Lance remembered the first time he’d met Keith Kogane. He was 8 years old and had just made Gravity (mini level 2)  and was aiming to jump straight up to Twinkles the next year. It was a pretty lofty goal at the time considering he had only just started learning tucks but he was determined to achieve it and he had told his coach, Alfor Altea, that. Alfor, not wanting to crush Lance’s dreams but also not wanting him to attempt to progress to fast through the program, agreed to move Lance into his level 3 tumbling class. This was a huge deal for Lance not only because he was finally going to be in a class with Hunk, but because it was a huge honor to be bumped into a level 3 class while still competing in minis. 

Lance was also excited to be in this class for another reason: Alfor had chosen Takashi Shirogane as his assistant coach. Shiro was well known around the gym for being a prodigal tumbler alongside his best friend Matthew Holt. This year was Shiro’s first year on a senior team. Everybody had expected him to make the pride and joy of Altea All Stars team Voltron, but he’d been assigned to medium sized Kerberos instead. It was sort of shock considering how well he tumbled, but Lance had heard from his older sister who was on Voltron that while he was a tumbling pro his stunting, especially single armed stunting which was necessary for a small co-ed team, wasn’t up to scratch. That was why he had been put on Kerberos so he could build up more skill. 

When Lance arrived for the first class he wasn’t all that surprised to discover that the majority of his classmates were girls from youth and junior teams. All star cheer was a predominately female sport to begin with, and the mini division only had two levels. This meant the only boys in his class were himself, Hunk, and a new kid Lance had never seen at the gym before. The boy was about their age, dressed in black shorts and a red shirt. He had dark, raven colored hair and big gray eyes that almost seemed purple in some lights. The boy hid behind assistant coach Shiro, peaking out around him every now and then like a frightened turtle. 

“Who’s that?” Lance asked Hunk as they were stretching out before class. Lance was bent over in a bridge stretch so he couldn’t gesture to the boy. The best he could was jerk his head in the stranger’s general direction.

“Who?” Hunk asked in confusion, glancing over in the area Lance had indicated. 

“The boy,” Lance answered, rocking on his hands to stretch out his wrists. “The one by Coach Shiro in the red shirt.”

“Oh,” Hunk said in understanding. “I dunno. I’ve seen him a few times taking privates with Coach Shiro.”

Lance squinted, kicking over into a standing position. He gave himself a second to let the blood that had rushed to his head settle before speaking again. “Well I’ve never seen him before.”

Hunk shrugged then practiced his back walkover. “Maybe he’s on Universe? Or a youth team?”

“Does he look tall enough to be in the youth division?” Lance challenged. “And we stretch with Universe. I think I’d know if he was on that team. If anything I’d say he’s a Berry or a Starlette, but he’s too big for that.”

“Well then what team is he on?” Hunk asked curiously. 

“Hello boys! Not shirking stretching are you?” Said a voice from behind them making both boys jump in surprise. It was only Coran, the gym’s most senior coach behind Alfor and who also served as the gym’s receptionist. He smiled down at them, carrying a large envelop. “Now excuse me boys, I’ve got to deliver this to Alfor. Alfor! I think our new wedge mats and trampolines are here!”

“Really?” Alfor said excitedly. 

Coran nodded. “This envelope from Tumble Trak was just delivered along with some huge boxes. Come see!”

“Shiro, can you lead warm ups today?” Alfor asked, already sort of inching towards the door. “I’ve really got to handle this. As you know mats can be rather delicate and as the owner I ought to-”

“Go,” Shiro laughed, shaking his head. “Test out those trampolines.”

“Thank you,” Alfor smiled and followed Coran excitedly out of the gym. 

Coach Alfor was the owner of Altea All Stars. He was tall, with dark skin and hair so shockingly white that nobody knew if it was genetically like that or if he dyed it. As a coach he could be stern, but was mostly kind and patient with even the most difficult of students. Unlike most gym owners he didn’t just coach the elite teams like Kerberos and Voltron, he coached Gemini (Youth 3), and Pegasus (Senior 4), alongside the other elite teams at the gym. It was clear to athletes and outsiders alike that Alfor was passionate about his job, but sometimes he acted more like a child than a full grown man. Case in point, skipping out on warm ups to ‘test’ out the new trampolines. Still, he was probably one of the wisest men a person could ever meet. 

“Okay,” Shiro said, clapping his hands to call the attention of the dozen or so students. “Since I know you’ve all stretched out, let’s line up here and go through warmups.”

Shiro had them introduce themselves after warmups. He asked everyone their name, age, team, and then to throw the best (and by best he meant cleanest and least likely to fall) tumbling pass they could. Lance thought this would give him the opportunity to find out what team the mystery boy was on, but it came time for him to speak he just froze up, pressing his arms to his sides and looking away from the group. Shiro knelt down beside the boy and spoke softly, almost too soft for Lance to hear over the shrieking of the pyramid of the team practicing nearby crumbling down. 

“You don’t have to speak,” Shiro murmured. “I can talk for you, is that okay?”

The boy looked at Shiro and nodded. Shiro gave him a reassuring smile. 

“This is Keith,” Shiro said warmly. “He is seven years old, going to be eight soon, and he isn’t on a team yet, but he’s been tumbling at another gym for a few years before… moving here. Why don’t you show them what you can do?”

Keith nodded, unclenching his arms from his sides. He took a deep breath, then took off running. He launched into a round off to a back handspring series. Shiro followed alongside him, hands ready to spot him in case of a stumble and it was fortunate that he did. By the end of the second handspring Keith had lost a lot of power and speed. He probably should have stopped his series there, but he seemed dead set on completing a third handspring. Lance didn’t need to be a coach to know that Keith didn’t have enough momentum to flip over completely. Sure enough his elbows crumpled beneath his weight, but he didn’t eat the mat. Shiro helped to brace him so he stayed upright enough to complete the pass. When keith’s face came up into view, he looked ready to cry. 

“You did great!” Shiro beamed, kneeling down to be eye level. 

“I almost fell,” The small boy whimpered sniffling. “I usually make it over but I almost fell!”

Lance immediately felt sympathy for the kid. He knew what it was like to fail something he had practiced a lot just when he was trying to show it off. 

“That was great Keith!” Lance cheered, clapping his hands. He nudged Hunk who joined in.

“I can only do like, two handsprings, and I’m 8!” Hunk added. 

The rest of the group seemed to pick up on what they were doing and began to clap. Keith seemed surprised but pulled on a shaky smile, wiping his eyes. 

“Is everything alright?” Alfor asked, walking back into the gym. 

“Everything is great!” Lance answered for Shiro. “Keith just did three back handsprings! In a row!”

“Three back handsprings?” Alfor asked, raising his eyebrows. “That’s pretty impressive, but I think it’s time for us to begin working on our tucks!”

**Keith**

Everything was going really well that thursday. In practice all the flyers hit their stunts with minimal bobbling. Pidge actually made it across the floor and completed her pass in a full. Keith didn’t forget the dance steps this time. Nobody wanted to admit it, but their amazing performance was probably due to the fact that Allura was out sick and wasn’t there to scream at them when the messed up. Allura was a great coach, inspiring yet terrifying, but she did seem to make the entire team nervous. Matt Holt, her replacement for the day, was calm and reserved, but unafraid to call people out if the messed up. For example, when in warmups Keith stumbled in his tumbling and landed face first on the floor, Matt said, much to Keith’s embarrassment:

“I thought Shiro had taught you proper manners Keith, but I guess he missed the lesson on going on a date before you eat them out.”

The whole team burst out laughing. Keith felt his face grow hot. He mumbled an apology and headed for the back of the line vowing never to let himself slip up again around Matt. Fortunately Keith wasn’t the only roasted that day. As a sibling of Matt, Pidge was a prime target for it especially when it came to their lackluster tumbling. They were able to shake it off and often fire it back.

“Was that a whip or a startled cat?” Matt asked, lounging on some stacked tumble mats.

“I dunno,” Pidge managed breathlessly. “Was that a gold NCA title or a bronze one in your showcase?”

Matt didn’t respond, merely taking a sip from his thermos cooly. Pidge smirked and Keith knew they had won. 

The majority of the practice was dedicated to cleaning the routine before their first competition. They ran through the different sections of the routine one by one, fixing mistakes and working through mix ups. Overall the routine was pretty clean, though Nyma kept bobbing  in her double up and Shiro held up the entire practice forcing her and Rolo to kept working on it until they got it right. Keith was honestly surprised with how easy the steps came to him now. Perhaps Allura’s ‘full out kink’ as Pidge called it helped commit it all to muscle memory faster than expected. The only thing he was having a little trouble with was the dance. 

To be honest, Keith wasn’t surprised about this one. He’d never been a good dancer, the different movements and steps always got jumbled up in his brain. Shiro knew this and had given him extensive practice before he joined in on team practices. It had helped, but he was still light years behind the other athletes. Even on Keith’s best days he looked like jello compared the clean sharp movements of his teammates, especially Lance. 

On the surface Lance looked like an uncooked multigrain noodle: tan, long, and pretty skinny for his height. But on the mat he was loose and slippery, in a good way. People seemed to be drawn to pay attention to him for more reasons than just the fact that he was front and center in the dance sequence. Lance had the ability to make a dance that choreographed down to the hand gestures all his own. Maybe it was the way he moved, or how he walked, or his facials, but it was something that put Lance in a league of his own. 

At the end of practice Shiro had everyone gather around him so he could go over the logistics of tomorrow. 

“You have to be here at the gym by no later than 3:45 pm.” He said, reading from his phone notes that Allura no doubt had dictated. “We will leave the gym by 4 pm and if you are late for any reason we will leave without you. There are-”

“No exceptions.” Pidge breathed in Keith ear, finishing Shiro’s sentence. “Not even if you’re the best boy in our program and yes I mean you Lance.”

The team, including Lance, snickered and Shiro held up his hands. “Her words, not mine. Moving on, make sure you bring everything you need to be competition ready including uniforms, hair, makeup, and bows. Please make sure you bring your team jackets as the rules have changed and teams are no longer allowed to walk around competitions in only their uniforms or practice wear unless preparing in warmups or backstage.”

“Modest is hottest.” Pidge whispered and Keith quickly turned his snort into a cough. 

“Okay, I think that is all she wanted me to tell you,” Shiro said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Are there any questions? Lance?”

“Yeah, are we showcasing tonight?” Lance asked. He was sitting a little ways away from the rest of the group with Hunk. “Since its our first competition and all?”

A few murmurs spread around the group but Keith couldn’t catch any of their words. He wasn’t even sure what Lance meant by ‘showcasing’. 

“I mean…” Shiro said thoughtfully. “We can? The only teams here are Starstruck and a few youth teams I think, but if you guys want to showcase I’m willing to bet they’d watch. Raise your hands if you want to showcase.”

Several hands (including Lance’s) shot up eagerly. Some were a little more hesitant. 

“Raise your hand!” Pidge hissed, grabbing Keith’s arm by the elbow and jerking up. 

“What even is a showcase?” He whispered, keeping his hand up. “I thought that was over?”

“That’s majority,” Matt announced after counting the hands. 

“By Varsity Scoring System standards?” Rolo asked and all the veterans laughed. 

“Yes, our gym showcase was a few weeks ago,” Pidge said, getting to their feet with everyone else. “But sometimes before competitions we do a final full out or showcase. Usually only big ones though.”

“And is this a big one?” Keith asked. All week Shiro and Allura had been telling the team the first competition was small scale (even though it was 18 hours by bus away) and therefore didn’t really matter. Had they been lying just to make the team feel better?   
“Nope,” Pidge said, popping the ‘p’. “It’s just really far away and we’re all suckers for attention. Plus it’ll be a nice run through of what a competition is like for newbies like you.”

A minute or two later a large group of girls in golden sports bra with the word ‘STARSTRUCK’ written over the front walked around the corner following a coach Keith didn’t know that well. Coran lead another pack of little kids wearing white and silver bows he instantly recognized as the Twinkles. A few more groups of uniform matching athletes filed in. Most of their practicewear designs were too vague to pin down as any team he knew. 

“Are all the teams going to perform?” Keith asked Shiro who shook his head. 

“No,” He replied. “Except for maybe Twinkles. They, much like Lance, rarely miss a chance to show off.”

“I heard that!” Lance said, giving them a playful scowl. 

Shiro stuck out his tongue. “Get in positions everyone!”

Everybody scrambled to their starting spots. Once there Rolo, their team captain, looked around to ensure everybody was in the right position. Then he lifted his hand up, middle and pointer finger and thumb extended into the signature ‘V’ of Voltron. On his signal the team copied him.

“Get you some!” They shouted as one, hands coming up into the first pose, knees bending, and chins coming down in anticipation for the starting beat. 

There was a moment of silence, one moment where everything went quiet, but that deafening quiet. For that singular sliver of a second Keith could feel his team like he’d never felt them before. Their breathing and pulse seemed to meld to become one being. He could hear the rush of adrenaline flowing through their veins as they physically and mentally prepared for what was to come. They thought with one mind, stood together as a team, taking that deep breath in as one unit and breathing it out in a steady stream. 

And in this moment Keith finally understood all star cheerleading. 

“Music’s on!” Shiro called and a moment later the voice over and lion’s roar that marked the beginning of their routine boomed loud over the sound system. Collectively the team looked up, shouting out the lyrics they’d heard hundreds of times in practice before.

“HUSTON YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.”

Keith had performed these same movements over and over and over again for the past few weeks committing them to muscle memory. He always thought that when he was in practice doing full outs it would be the same as in a performance, but he was so wrong it wasn’t even funny. Performing for a dead faced coach on the lookout for errors wasn’t the same as performing for a crowd cheering along to the lyrics and shouting out the counts. His thoughts melted into the counts and the movements, letting himself do what he’d been working at so hard.

“Sun’s out.”

1, Heel stretch, 3…

“Guns out.”

Bicep extended. 7, 8…

“Voltron will make you scream and shout!”

Double down, 5, 6, 7, 8…

Easily the best part for Keith was the tumbling sections. In a routine there were two main tumbling sections: running and standing. They seemed simple enough but honestly they could make or break a score. To earn full points for tumbling most (according to Varsity score system that was 15 of their 20 team members) would have to complete Elite+ level passes. Choreographing all that to ensure nobody ran into each other was one thing, synchronizing it up was another. Tumbling came naturally to Keith, more naturally than any other part of this whole all star cheerleading thing. The pounding of hands and feet against the mat felt so familiar in practice, but he could have never guessed how alien it would feel when he was performing it. 

The crowd was clapping along, Shiro and Matt were cheering loudly from their spot, the synergy of their team was high and stayed up throughout their routine. Keith took that all as a sign that they were doing pretty damn well. At least, he thought they were until it came time for the pyramid. 

During the first part of the pyramid Keith was Pidge’s backspot. Pidge loaded into the pyramid by tumbling back and sort of jumping back into the group’s hands. After a pause where the flyer rested on their back they would be pushed up to complete the move and land in the base’s hands on their feet. Usually when Pidge came back they were hyper animated. During that performance though Keith could see they were crying. Out of breath and mostly focused on keeping the routine going Keith couldn’t verbally ask what was wrong, but he didn’t have to.

“Bobble,” Shay gasped out when Keith made eye contact with her. “But Pidge made… made an amazing save!”

Keith was about to make some indication for her to explain. He hadn’t seen them bobble, but then again he was primarily looking up at his own flyer to ensure her safety. 

Throughout the rest of the pyramid Pidge managed to keep their mouth moving and facials on, but Keith could still see tears rolling down their cheeks he helped Lance flip them out to begin the dance sequence. He knew Pidge was somewhat of a perfectionist, but only when it came to her stunting. They prided themselves greatly on their flexibility and skill in the air to the point where it was almost their identity. Keith had seen them majorly mess up once before on his first day of practice. They’d jumped too early in the tick tock and Lance wasn’t prepared to catch them. The stumbled, but managed to stay upright, barely. Keith hadn’t thought much of it at the time because they hadn’t fallen completely to the ground. At the end of that full out Keith noticed Pidge looked a little distraught. Shiro ended up calling the flyer over and signaled for a water break. Rolo later told Keith that he had heard Pidge sniffling as Shiro was talking to them about the bobble.

As the dance sequence came to a close and the crowd erupted into applause Keith strained to look around for Pidge. The rest of the team was running towards friends, hugging each other enthusiastically, but Pidge was crying into Lance’s shoulder, who’s ending pose was nearest to them. Keith hurried over, kneeling beside them. 

“Are you okay?” He asked breathlessly. 

Pidge let out a shuddering sob and turned their head away from Keith, hiding it into Lance’s shoulder.  

“You did great Pidge.” Lance murmured, rubbing their back comfortingly. “You did amazing in my opinion.”

“I… I bobbled!” They choked out, voice muffled by Lance’s shoulder. 

“But you saved it beautifully.” Lance assured her. “If I hadn’t known what the stunt was supposed to be I would’ve never guessed anything was wrong.”

“What happened?” Keith asked quietly. “Did you get hurt?”

“They didn’t get hurt,” Lance answered calmly. “During the Twist-Dip-Snap stunt they bobbled and the back leg slipped out of their grasp. But they turned it into an arabesque.”

“That was… really smart.” Keith said in approval. 

“But I still bobbled and slipped up!” They whispered. “Wh-what if that had happened at a competition.”

“The bobble might have been a deduction,” Matt said, kneeling down on Pidge’s other side. “But the arabesque would have still counted as an elite level stunt. No harm no foul Pidge, it’s okay.”

Pidge whimpered once more then extricated themselves from Lance’s arms, wiping their eyes. 

“I’m just being a b-baby.”  They muttered, sniffling again.

“Everything okay?” Hunk asked in concern as he came over. 

“Y-yeah,” Pidge huffed, keeping their head down to hide their puffy eyes. Matt smiled comfortingly and wrapped his arm around them and Pidge leaned into it. “Is practice over? I just wanna go home. I’m tired.”

“What? No pre-competition ice cream?” Lance gasped in mock shock. 

Pidge cracked a smirk. “Maybe… maybe I can stay out for a little bit.”

“Go get changed Pidge,”Lance instructed. “I’ll meet you by my car. Keith, are you coming?”

Keith blinked, a little surprised at Lance’s sudden offer. “I… sure.”


	7. December 8th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 months to update whoops

Meme slut: Pidge

Funshine: Hunk

Lacne: Lance

Daddy dearest: Keith

Super Shiro: Shiro

Galli-AYO: Allura

Shea butter: Shay

Nymph: Nyma

Roll out: Rolo

Probably Einstein: Matt

Uncle Grandpa: Coran

Prince: Lotor

Official Spark Your Spirit Competition Performance Order: Level 5 Senior Small Coed Division

Aquatica All Stars Oceanic

Mamora Extreme All Stars Blade

Powerhouse ATX Fireworks

Alkari Athletics Sage

Spectrum All Stars Cyan

Altea All Stars Lions of Voltron

Heaven Sent Cheer and Dance Archangels

Phoenix Elite Inferno

December 8th

daddy dearest>>>lacne

daddy dearest: Hey Lance, it’s Keith, I got your number from Pidge and I just wanted to thank you for inviting me out for ice cream. I had a lot of fun.

lacne: no problem

lacne: just figured u would have liked to hang out for a bit before returning home to shiro

lacne: no offense, i love shiro but he’s basically super dad and almost overbearing

daddy dearest: none taken

daddy dearest: and he can be kinda excessive but i mean he is my brother so i love him

lacne: in a familial way

daddy dearest: uh yeah totally

lacne: why does that sound suspicious

daddy dearest: //sweats//

lacne: im waiting

daddy dearest: when i was little i might have had a crush on him

lacne: u

lacne: WHAT

daddy dearest: WE ARENT RELATED OH MY GOD

daddy dearest: HE WAS JUST SUPER COOL AND I WAS IN NEED OF ROLE MODELS

lacne: IM DYING

lacne: IM SCREEN SHOTTING THIS TO SEND TO POGDE

daddy dearest: THEY ALREADY KNOW

lacne: iM FucKiNG whEEzing

daddy dearest: shit gtg shiro is making me pack bYE

Later that night Keith stared at his phone reading and rereading his conversation with Lance. He couldn’t see any animosity or even anger anywhere in their exchange, and he didn’t know if that should concern him or not. He should just take it as a good sign, but in Keith’s life there were no good signs, only death and destruction. That probably wasn’t the way his therapist wanted him to think, but it was how he honestly felt.

Before setting his phone down he checked his messages from Lotor. Nothing, not that he’d been expecting to see anything. He somehow felt let down his boyfriend hadn’t checked in on him, but maybe he was just busy, Keith didn’t really want to dwell on it more than he had to. Best let that Pandora’s box alone lest he overthought what this could mean.

The morning of friday December 8th dawned bright and cold. It had snowed a little in the night dusting the terrain in a thin blanket of glittering white. Though the sun was barely peaking out from the horizon when Shiro dropped him off at school he knew the reflection of light off the snow was going to be blinding later in the day. It vaguely reminded him of the time Shiro-who was given the world’s most easily burned skin-thought it would be okay to skip sunscreen in the winter months. Unfortunately he was dead wrong. The sun’s UV rays had reflected from the snow right onto his face giving him a nasty sunburn. Keith would’ve felt bad for him if it wasn’t for the fact that Shiro was a huge stickler for sunscreen. He still had pictures of Shiro’s peeling face from a competition he’d competed at.

 

Speaking of competition Keith wasn’t sure how to feel about attending one. Everyone had assured him that Spark Your Spirit was basically a scored showcase. It was what a lot of teams used as a starter competition to kick off their season and it didn’t really matter. Still, it was Keith’s first competition with his team and he was just a little nervous. This was also Keith’s first competition with a team in general. Keith was originally a solo power tumbler. He competed on his own and never had an actual team. He wasn’t exactly used to walking into to the gym and hearing his team call him over for warm ups. It was just kind of weird to him. Sometimes he almost felt as if he wasn’t really a part of the team. He’d joined right in the middle of the season after all the camps and intense conditioning practices. All the friend groups had been made and set in stone. Sure, Pidge’s friend group was great (though Lance was still a little cold towards him) but there were lots of times when they would crack an inside joke and Keith would have no idea why it was funny. He just felt out of place and he was worried it would affect him in competition.

 

Fortunately once he was actually in class Keith managed to somehow completely forget about cheer and the upcoming competition until lunch when he received a text from Pidge:

meme slut>>>daddy dearest

meme slut: hey boo can u give me a quick tumbling session before we leave

meme slut: i want to clean my Arabian whip 3 to full before we compete

daddy dearest: and by that you mean

daddy dearest: you want to be sure you can actually land that pass for competition

meme slut: i can land it??

daddy dearest: you always stagger back and it looks sloppy

meme slut: ik

meme slut: so i want to clean it up

daddy dearest: we only have 30-40 minutes then we've got to get on the bus

daddy dearest: you really want to get on it sweaty

meme slut: i can wipe down in baby wipes and sleep the rest of the way

daddy dearest: ok im down meet me and shiro outside the school as soon as it gets out

meme slut: aight youre the best

daddy dearest: ikik

daddy dearest: also shiro showed me the performance order

daddy dearest: i have two questions,

daddy dearest: who are these teams

daddy dearest: and wheres galra elite

meme slut: gotta copy of it?

daddy dearest has sent a file

meme slut: OH HELL YES BLADE WILL BE THERE

daddy dearest: ????

meme slut: blade is a team from mamora extreme based in north cali they are SO GOOD

meme slut: their coach ulaz was working for galra elite but quit and released this big statement about how bad they were

meme slut: it was the hottest tea in the cheer world for like

meme slut: 3 weeks

meme slut: which is saying something bc things go really fast around here

meme slut: anyways

meme slut: the galra tried to sue him for defamation or some shit like that but the case was settled out of court

meme slut: supposedly ulaz threatened to release more lmao i wish he did

daddy dearest: oh

daddy dearest: is that why they arent at sys??

meme slut: oh hell know

meme slut: if you think zarkon is scared of blade you are dead wrong

meme slut: they dont believe in little one day competitions like sys

meme slut: they consider themselves above it

daddy dearest: so what will we see them at then

meme slut: oh there are lots of wonderful events for them to spoil

meme slut: for example they will be at the league next week

meme slut: some others are the majors, nca nationals, athletic championships, jamfest, uca, cheersport, and their personal favorite event to ruin: worlds

daddy dearest: oh wow

meme slut: yep.

meme slut: thats kinda why i love this competition so much

meme slut: no galra

meme slut: oh yeah plus oceanic’s point flyer is a GODDESS

meme slut: her name is florona btw

meme slut: oh shit i just realized your break ended ok well see ya laterrr

~

“You’re not getting high enough at the end,” Keith informed a flustered Pidge as they completed another basic back handspring series. “You’re not holding your core tight enough and you’re not using the stored up power to push through to the next move.”

“What… what does that even mean?!” They choked out, leaning on their knees for support. They clearly weren’t used to these more intense drills to be panting only 15 minutes in.

“Okay,” Keith sighed, fighting to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He took out his phone and pulled up an old video of his tumbling. He set the video to play back frame by frame. “Watch how when I land that first back handspring my body keeps moving. My core is tight, and I don’t bend my legs any extra like you do. That lets me ride the momentum of my last move through to the next.”

“Right,” They nodded. “Can I try that?”

“Do your pass without the arabian.” Keith instructed, setting his phone back down on a pile of stacked mats. “Focus just on letting your body connecting each handspring to the next.”

This time Pidge made the corrections he’d given them and the series looked much better. Admittedly their whip wasn’t an ideal height, but they didn’t stumble backwards on landing so it was a big improvement. Even Pidge noticed.

“Did you see that?!” They exclaimed, beaming brightly. “I wasn’t like an inch of the ground!”

“Awesome,” Keith grinned. Maybe he wasn’t so bad at this teaching thing after all. “Just make sure you keep your toes pointed in that full.”

“Whatever Shiro,” Pidge said, reaching for their water bottle.”

“Hey Keith,” Shiro called, sticking his head in from the lobby. “Carpool of youth girls just pulled in, you should come out for crowd control. Pidge, can you get cleaned up, then help too?”

Pidge, still sucking on their water bottle, gave Shiro a quick thumbs up, then reached for their back of baby wipes.

Keith went ahead and made his way over to where Shiro held the door open for them.

“You’re doing a great job you know,” Shiro said as soon as the door closed.

“With what?” Keith asked, a little confused.

“Helping Pidge with their tumbling.” He clarified. “You’re taking time to explain things out and helping them make the corrections Allura and I have been begging them to make for years.”

“I’m just doing what you did with me,” Keith shrugged, stuffing his hands inside his pockets sheepishly. “Nothing special.”

Shiro opened his mouth to respond, but just then the front doors sprung open and about a dozen bow wearing 9 year olds carrying overnight bags and carting their brand new uniforms strolled in. Most were wearing some sort of gym related apparel that peeked out under their snow coats.

“Shiro!” A blonde girl, one Keith remembered being particularly tenacious in tumbling classes he’d demonstrated for, exclaimed and dropped all her stuff and raced to hug Shiro’s legs. A few more giggling girls joined her.

“Samantha!” A woman who appeared to be the girl’s mother picked up the (thankfully) bagged garment. “You can’t just drop your things like that!”

Keith chuckled and made his way over to the doors, holding them open for the next group of cheerleaders.

He greeted each cheerleader, managing to remember a few of their names (not many) and then directed parents to luggage drop off and the kids to their team’s station. Only the tiny, mini, and youth teams required parents to chaperone their kids. To save on travel expenses the gym discouraged the parents of junior and senior team athletes from accompanying, but some did anyways.

Keith had heard of parent cliques in the gym, but didn’t really believe it until he saw how groups of parents congregated easily, blocking any outsiders from entering their little bubble. He managed to recognize some of them from the horror stories he’d heard from Shiro and Allura. There was that one Twinkle mom who threw a tantrum when her girl was replaced in the final tumbling sequence. And there were the group of parents who complained that the audition process wasn’t transparent enough.

Some of the kids Keith recognized too. Obviously he knew his teammates as they filed in, but he surprised how by just being more present in the gym had made him more attuned to the other athletes. There was Madeline, the Starlite who took a senior level tumbling class, chatting with Selene, her older sister who was on Starstruck. Then Devin and Kyle, twins on Nebula, followed by their Space Cadet sister Keith couldn’t quite name.

“Hey Keith!” Called one bundled up individual. It took Keith to recognize him as Hunk, wearing his Voltron team jacket and yellow lion hat. “On door duty?”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded. “The check in is on the left, and luggage is-”

“Oh I’ve done this for years I know what to do.” Hunk laughed, stomping off his boots before stepping in. “I’ve got Lance’s luggage too. He’s still wrestling with his makeup case.”

Hunk jerked his thumb out to the parking lot where a tall figure wearing a bright blue hat struggled to yank a large box from their trunk. Lance lost his balance on the ice and slipped, letting out a swear word loudly.

“He’ll get it eventually,” Hunk chuckled, walking inside.

Keith glanced around. Nobody else appeared to be pulling in, he could probably leave his post for a few minutes.

By the time he’d made his way to where Lance was parked the base was back on his feet, grumbling as he dusted off his snow pants.

“Need some help?” Keith asked calmly. Lance let out a yelp of surprise and swiveled around, nearly slipping again. All that time spent as a back spot had really gotten to Keith’s reflexes apparently, because he grabbed Lance’s waist the same way he did his flyer in practice, keeping the boy upright.

There was a brief moment of awkwardness as both boys realized the position they were in.

“Uh…” Keith blinked, staring right into Lance’s face. Had Lance’s eyes always been this blue? They looked brighter than the vibrant tumbling equipment in the gym, two twin blue trampolines. How had he never noticed this before… and why was he noticing it now... “You okay?”

“I’m fine!” Lance spat, yanking himself out of Keith’s grasp. He grabbed the handle of his case and gave another violent tug. “I don’t need your help. Thank you very much.”

“Sorry,” Keith mumbled a little embarrassed. “Just saw you were struggling.”

“Nope!” Lance grunted, straining against the case. “All good here!”

Keith scowled. Was Lance blind? The reason the case wasn’t coming out was because the wheel was caught under the mat. He sighed, reaching into the back and lifting the case up, freeing it from the obstruction.

“Oh,” Lance said as Keith set the box down on the freshly salted pavement. “Well, Thanks, I guess.”

“Christ what do you keep in there?” Keith asked, shaking out his hands. “Rocks?”

Lance frowned. “No! It’s- you know what? Never mind, you’ll see it later.”

Keith watched as Lance slammed the trunk shut and locked his car.

“Check in is inside,” Keith informed him.

“I know Kogane,” Lance said almost sulkily. “I’ve only been doing this for all my life you know.”

Keith let Lance walk ahead of him after that. He felt something sink in his chest, feeling honestly a little disappointed that after their great conversation last night Lance still wasn’t too keen on being friendly with him. He sighed, shuffling back to the door to greet a new group of kids and telling himself not to worry too much about Lance. In fact, why should Keith worry about whether or not he was on good terms with Lance? Why should he worry about Lance at all?

He cursed himself and kicked a chunk of slush sending pecks of melted snow flying to land on the dark asphalt and melt away into nothing.

~

Once all the athletes were checked in and their luggage safely stowed away beneath the bus, they all congregated in the gym, chattering excitedly about the upcoming competition. The coaches were stationed around the perimeter of the blue mat to ward off anyone from attempted to utilize the trampolines. It was a good thing they did too because more than a few Cadets tried to sneak around to play on them. Fortunately Coran caught them quickly before they could injure themselves.

“Upupup!” He scolded, herding the giggling girls back to the mat. “There will be none of that silliness in my gym!”

Keith smiled a bit in amusement, pulling his knees closer to his chest. He was purposefully sitting away from the rest of his team. As they spoke and yelled and laughed, he watched from afar, not wanting to intrude. They all looked so close already. Keith knew most of them had been together since Juniberries or Universes, and he’d only just started cheering a few weeks ago. He didn’t feel like he’d earned the right to join in on their conversations. Plus Lance was right in the center of it all, miming out something with his finger over his upper lip like a mustache. Lance probably wouldn’t want him around and besides, Keith was content to sit off to the side and text his boyfriend instead, or try to text his boyfriend. Lotor wasn’t really responding.

daddy dearest>>>Prince

daddy dearest: hey babe, I’m about to head out for a weekend trip! I should be back on Sunday, we should get together then!

daddy dearest: We could go see a movie or go out to eat

daddy dearest: I’ll let you decide what we do!

daddy dearest: <33

“Who are you sending hearts too?” A voice from behind him made him jump.

Keith quickly shoved his phone in his pocket and turned around to see Shay wearing her bright smile and Pidge looking owlishly over his shoulder. They narrowed their eyes impishly, mouth forming into a mischievous grin.

Shay was somebody Keith hadn’t really had a chance to talk to yet, but he already knew she, like Hunk, was one of the nicest people in the world. She didn’t have the typical cheerleader body even for a tumbler. She wasn’t the petite, slender yet athletic build, instead she was a little on the shorter side-though not as short as Pidge-and curvy where it counted the most. She was strong though, ridiculously so. Keith had a feeling she could bench his own body weight twice over without breaking a sweat.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already found a girlfriend on the team,” Shay teased. “I knew all the girls would go after you but I didn’t expect you to settle on one that fast.”

“Wh-what?” Keith spluttered. “No Shay! I am not texting a girl! I can’t even name any of the girls on this team besides you.”

“That’ll disappoint the masses,” She laughed brightly. “They all keep whispering about you and giggling when you pass by.”

“Yeah,” Pidge confirmed, adjusting their glasses and plopping down next to him. Shay did the same, leaning back against her hands. “I don’t have the heart to tell them he has a boyfriend already.”

“A boyfriend who won’t text me back.” Keith grumbled. “But a boyfriend nonetheless.”

“Oh,” Shay’s expression sobered up pretty fast. “I’m sorry Keith, are you okay or-”

“It’s fine,” Keith said hastily. “It’s nothing, he’s probably doing homework. I can’t expect him to respond immediately every time I text him.”

Pidge eyed him with those beady brown eyes. He had the distinct impression they were scanning him for any signs of discomfort and he quickly made his face as placid as he could. The last thing he needed was to be prodded about his love life.

“Well, that’s a good mindset to have!” Shay smiled cheerfully.

“Yeah,” Keith agreed, keeping his eyes fixed on the mat. “So, uh, when do we board the buses?”

“As soon as Shiro and Allura make sure everyone here.” Pidge replied dully, pointing to where the pair of coaches stood, scanning over papers and murmuring to each other. “Should be soon though. They’ll call us up by teams.”

“Do you know who your travel buddy is yet?” Shay asked.

“My what?” Keith raised an eyebrow.

“Your travel buddy!” Shay repeated, then began to sing the ‘Bubble Guppies’ theme song except ‘Bubble Guppies’ was replaced with ‘Travel Buddy’.

Pidge let out a groan. “She means who you’re sitting next to on the bus. That person usually rooms with you and is your ‘buddy’ throughout the trip, meaning you don’t leave their side when you guys go out on anything non-cheer related.”

“Last year I had Nyma!” Shay grinned, then her face fell a little bit. “But she left me a lot to go hang out with Rolo. It’s okay though because I got to hang out with Pidge and Hunk and Lance instead!”

“Oh, well, I don’t really know who mine is.” Keith said. “Do you guys?”

“Nope,” Pidge hummed, shaking their head. “I was hoping since you’re Shiro’s brother you might know or something.”

Keith shook his head and opened his mouth to speak again before being interrupted by the sound of Allura clearing her throat.

“Attention Paladins!” She called in a booming voice. The entire crowd fell silent at once, turning to focus their attention to her. Allura had an amazing ability to project her voice without the use of a megaphone. Shiro said it came from years of teaching the youth flyer class. “In a few moments we'll begin calling up teams to board the bus. When your team is called we ask that you CALMLY stand and make your way to the bus. Please do not talk as we need to get moving as soon as we can. Okay?”

A soft murmur of assent washed through the crowd and Allura began announcing the teams.

“How many teams are we taking?” Keith whispered.

“A lot.” Pidge shrugged. “Now shut up and listen.”

Lance

“Man, I hate having to sit on that mat through all those teams,” Lance complained as he hefted his carry-on bag on the bus steps. “I can’t believe we used to have more.”

“Yeah I know,” Hunk agreed, shuffling sideways through the bus aisle holding his own bag high above his head. “But then we lost them once Galra Elite moved in, and then we got some of them back once Balmera shut down two years ago, remember? It’s a good thing so many Balmera athletes came to us though, we were about to shut down too. Plus we got Shay, so it’s not all bad.”

“I know, I know,” Lance sighed, scanning the papers tacked above each seat for his own name. “But that doesn’t make it any easier having to suffer through each team being called, especially the beanies.”

Beanies were an affectionate nickname given to the tiny and mini cheerleaders embarking on their first competition seasons. They always took longer to herd into groups and get ready and therefor sucked up the most time, but they were always the most enthusiastic and lifted the spirits of the group.

Lance sighed, eyes flickering out to the bus across the street from their own, where he could see through the window a bunch of youth cheerleaders sat in their seats, chattering to their friends. The sight reminded him of some of his own early competition trips as a Helios and Twinkle. Man, he loved the bus rides to the competition almost as much as he loved the actual competition itself. He actually preferred taking buses over any other mode of transportation. Sure, flying was faster and all, but airports were a hassle, tickets were expensive as fuck, and you aren’t allowed to blast music and dance in the aisles. Everyone knows that nothing bonds a team closer quite like 18 hours in a charter bus watching Disney movies and screaming the lyrics to old pop songs.

“Hey Lance!” Hunk called out ahead of him. “I found your seat in the back!”

Lance turned to see Hunk pointing towards the very back seat and did a little fist pump. Finally, Lance had been given that coveted back seat with all the legroom and the great WiFi service. He felt God in this Chili’s tonight.

“Oh hell yeah!” He whooped, sliding a little bit faster through the bus. “Let’s put up our stuff and start that Uno tournament travel buddy.”

Lance popped open the overhead compartment and slipped his uniform and makeup case inside carefully. “Hand me your stuff and I’ll put it up here… Hunk?”

But Hunk wasn’t slipping into the seat next to him, instead he was opening up the overhead of another seat on the opposite side of the bus and 3 rows ahead of him.

“Wait, Hunk?” Lance called out in confusion. Why was Hunk putting his stuff over there? Lance’s makeup case may have been big but it wasn’t that big. There was plenty of room for Hunk’s stuff. “What are you doing?”

“Putting my stuff away…?” Hunk said slowly. “I’m not your travel buddy, see?”

“What are you talking about? We’ve been travel buddies since we were…” Lance’s voice trailed off as he looked at the paper taped to Hunk’s seat that read ‘Hunk and Rolo’. “Oh…”

Lance and Hunk were an inseparable duo and always had been. Where one went the other was sure to be. They did basically everything together, even in cheerleading. When they were little they’d always sign up to be in each other’s groups

“I’m sorry bro,” Hunk said, patting Lance’s shoulder. “But hey! We can still hang out!”

“Yeah,” Lance managed a grin. Water off a duck’s back, water off a duck’s back. “We don’t have to be travel buddies to have fun, right? And since I have the back seat we can still play Uno!”

“You brought Uno?” Keith said as he approached them, backpack slung over one shoulder. “Why?”

“Because it’s tradition?” Lance said as if this would be obvious to a boy who had just joined the team like 3 weeks ago. “Duh?”

Keith scowled. “Sounds stupid. Now if you could excuse me I think my seat is back there.”

Lance stepped aside into Hunk’s row and barely resisted the urge to trip Mr. Mullet

“God do I have sympathy for whoever has the misfortune to be his travel buddy.” Lance grumbled, watching Keith shuffle backwards.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Hunk agreed hastily. “Very unfortunate.”

“What’s unfortunate?” Pidge asked as they came down the aisle.

“Keith! I mean he’s always just so-” Lance stopped at the sight of Keith making his way to the very back.

No.

Keith stopped at the very last row, reading the name Lance hadn’t even bothered to check.

Oh God no.

Keith looked over and looked his cloudy gray eyes with Lance’s.

Keith was Lance’s travel buddy.

lacne>>>super shiro

lacne: shiro

lacne: shiroooooo

lacne: this is important

super shiro: what is it

super shiro: please make it quick I’m trying to help wrangle the last of starstruck onto the bus

lacne: why is keith my travel buddy?

lacne: you know we dont get along

lacne: and you know hunk and i get along

lacne: so why are you doing this to me

super shiro: lance, I know you and keith dont see eye to eye

super shiro: but you are always with hunk

super shiro: allura and i thought it would be better to split you two up and give keith a chance to make new friends on the team

lacne: and you think im the best candidate for that

super shiro: well, we couldn’t put you with rolo after what happened last time

super shiro: and again, didn’t want to put you with hunk

super shiro: and we also didnt want rolo with keith for other reasons

lacne: you could have put him with pidge or something

super shiro: lance, it is what it is, deal with it, for me okay?

lacne: fine

lacne: but i dont have to become buds with him

lacne: and i dont want to, okay?

super shiro: nobody is asking you to do that

super shiro: least of all me

super shiro: but at least be decent

lacne: im always decent!

super shiro: debatable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive been really out of it lately lol but i started this a while back and had a shit ton of it done (like 4.6k and i usually post 5k chapters) so i spruced it up a little bit and posted it bc... i feel awful about not posting. i literally haven't updated anything since july except when i briefly got on a kick for An Ocean of You (i have one chapter done lol) and i've just been bouncing around for a while. im p sure i wrote most of this on an ipod touch lmao.  
> please leave comments of encouragement so i actually get motivated to write again. it's easier to work on stuff if people tell me they want me to work on it.  
> also send me anons!!! ilovechickensofttacos.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> hell yeah im so fucking pumped  
> anyways i just released this chapter to see if anybody would be genuinely interested in me continuing it. if you are please fucking scream at me in the comments or on my tumblr @ilovechickensofttacos. i love comments and since i already have a main fic (its called Brave New World and you should totally go check it out) i really wont be writing this unless i get enough people asking me too.  
> thanks for reading!!!!


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